Although Neal Huntington told reporters last month that Clint Hurdle's staff would return in 2018, the move became official Thursday.
Pitching coach Ray Searage, hitting coach Jeff Branson, third-base coach/infield coach Joey Cora, first-base coach Kimera Bartee, assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey, bench coach Tom Prince, bullpen coach Euclides Rojas and Dave Jauss received contract extensions through 2019, Huntington announced in a news release Thursday.
Additionally, bullpen catchers Heberto Andrade and Jordan Comadena will also be returning in 2018; Andrade for his 15th season in that role and Comadena for his second.
"We as an industry are all too quick to anoint gurus and want to fire coaches when the team doesn’t produce,” Huntington said last month. “It’s a collective effort, and our hitting coaches were really good hitting coaches when we were a top-five offense. They work their tails off and do a nice job. … Our coaches worked really hard to get the most out of what they’re given, and that’s a testament to them.”
Searage completed his seventh full season in his role and Branson completed his fourth. Perhaps the only surprising name included in the announcement was Cora, who joined the staff prior to the 2017 season. His brother, Alex, was hired as the Red Sox' manager last week after spending one season as the bench coach for the Astros.
The formal announcement came after Huntington and Hurdle both received four-year contract extensions in September, despite the Pirates missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
The Pirates finished 75-87 in 2017, enough for fourth place in the NL Central Division, although some players had promising seasons. Josh Bell, who completed his first full major league season, slashed .255/.334/.466 with 26 home runs and 90 RBI in 159 games.
Andrew McCutchen rebounded after falling to .200 on May 23, finishing .279/.363/.486 with 28 home runs and 88 RBI. Meanwhile, the Pirates committed fewer than 100 errors for only the third time in the club's 131-year history.
Although Jameson Taillon was lost for six weeks because of testicular cancer and Gerrit Cole allowed a career-high 31 home runs, the rotation used only seven starting pitchers — tying the club record for fewest used in one season.
Five pitchers had at least 115 strikeouts and the Pirates' team ERA ranked seventh in Major League Baseball. But the club was near the bottom of the league in most major offensive categories, including batting average (27th), runs (28th) and home runs (29th).
But Huntington emphasized to reporters last month how the health of Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte's suspension and Jung Ho Kang's absence because of his inability to obtain a visa contributed to the offensive regression.