It turns out changes to the Pirates’ 2017 coaching staff will be even more extensive than we thought. The Bucs have announced that there will be three more additions to the big-league coaching staff, all coming via promotions from within the organization.
Kimera Bartee, who previously had been the Pirates’ minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator, will serve as the Pirates’ first base coach. He’ll also coach outfield and baserunning.
Joey Cora, previously a big-league middle infielder, will serve as infield coach in addition to coaching third base. It had previously been reported that Cora, who managed at Altoona this season, would replace Rick Sofield as the Pirates’ third base coach.
Also, Tom Prince will be the Pirates’ bench coach. He was the Pirates’ minor league field coordinator last season, and he’s also been a manager in their farm system.
2016 bench coach Dave Jauss will return to the Pirates as a coach. Brad Fischer, who had the “coach” role in 2016, has been offered a player development role (a role he’d held in the organization previously). It’s unclear whether he’ll return.
These changes perhaps suggest that the Bucs are confident in their development processes, and with their integration of those processes at the big-league level. Bartee and Prince, in particular, coached many Pirates big-leaguers when they were in the minors.