Christian Marrero has done plenty of bouncing around in his 14 years in professional baseball. During his 11 year minor-league career, Marrero played for 13 different teams. Two of them were with the Pirates in 2012, making stop with their Class AA and AAA affiliates, Altoona and Indianapolis.

While he was only in Indianapolis a couple of weeks, that group left an impression on him.

“I had a lot of fun on that team, and guys were there working,” Marrero said during a Zoom call Wednesday. “They worked their butts off, and it was a good team to be on at that time.”

Almost a decade later, Marrero is back with the Pirates organization, but this time as a coach, and in the Majors. Ideally, he would stick around awhile.

The Pirates announced Marrero’s hiring as assistant hitting coach on Jan. 22. That announcement coincided with Mike Rabelo, who held the position last year, being moved to a new position on the staff, Major League field coordinator.

Marrero was brought in to interview for the same position last year, but ultimately returned back to the Phillies, where he had coached for their class A affiliates Williamsport and Lakewood the past two years.

Now, just three years removed from his playing days, the 34-year-old Marrero is coaching at the highest level. With the Pirates looking to add to the roster before the season gets started, there is a chance he might actually be younger than someone on the roster in a couple weeks.

“That kind of happened a little quicker than what I was expecting,” Marrero said. “Once I made the transition from coaching, I fell in love with it. I mean, the Phillies organization treated me awesome from day one. I learned so much over there during my time.”

Speaking of things happening quicker than expected, spring training is scheduled to start in less than three weeks. Hitting coach Rick Eckstein will take the lead with hitters again, but Marrero is in the middle of a crash course trying to learn about the Pirates’ position players.

“I’m coming in here, and one thing that’s big is just communication,” Marrero said about his preparation. “Communicating with the staff, with Rick, with Shelty [Derek Shelton], all the guys and just going over the players and what’s our gameplan for this year. When I’m home or something, I’m always looking at video, going through a whole bunch of stuff, doing whatever I can to know these guys inside and out.”

It will certainly be an uphill climb for Marrero and Eckstein. The abbreviated season was not kind to Pirates hitters, and the offense finished with the fewest runs scored (219) and OPS (.641) in baseball.  While there were some pleasant surprises offensively, like Ke’Bryan Hayes and Phil Evans, most of the Pirates’ big bats struggled. That included Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman, two players who looked like building blocks at this time last year. Reynolds went from competing for a batting title to hitting .189, and Newman saw his OPS drop from .800 to .556..

There will be plenty of projects for the two hitting coaches. Reynolds, Newman, Gregory Polanco and Adam Frazier will all be looking to rebound. Players like Anthony Alford, Jared Oliva and potentially Oneil Cruz will have their first real chance to leave their mark in the Majors.

It’s a tall task, but Marrero is excited to tackle it with Rick.

“I know Rick is high energy and loves to work and cares about his players, and I love that,” Marrero said. “That's one thing I noticed from him awhile back when he was with Washington, and when I was younger. That's the one [thing] that stood out -- how much he really cared.”

Marrero wants to match that energy and dedication. Show them that he cares and is ready to work. It’s why he doesn’t subscribe to just one singular hitting philosophy. He’s going to coach based on the player and their individual needs.

“Everybody's different, and that's why you've really got to build your relationship with these guys and you go from there,” Marrero said. “Then you try to individualize their plan or their routine, stuff like that, and try to make them the best they can be."

That mindset falls right in line with the ideology that Shelton looks for out of his staff. He wants to establish a player-centric culture, and he believes that is built on individual relationships and communication.

And if there is one thing Marrero learned after over a decade playing in the minors, it is how to communicate with ballplayers.

"I've been in these guys' situation before,” Marrero said. “I know baseball is not easy. Some of these guys forget how difficult this game really is. I think I have the ability to help them understand the information now -- you guys know there's so much information out there -- that I think can help them apply it to the game and make them better."

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