The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Tuesday afternoon that Mike Rabelo has been hired as the new assistant hitting coach. He will work with hitting coach Rick Eckstein and replace Jacob Cruz, who left after one season with the Pirates.
Rabelo was a fourth round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2001 out of college. As a catcher, he made it to majors for one at-bat in 2006, then spent most of the 2007-08 seasons in the majors as a backup catcher. He played pro ball until 2010.
Rabelo then became a minor league hitting coach for the Tigers at the lower levels, before moving into a managerial role. He has been a manager for the Tigers for six seasons total and he’s been at four different levels over the last four years, working his way up the Double-A Erie in 2019.
The current coaching staff under manager Derek Shelton includes five new faces (articles linked to their name below):
Bench: Don Kelly
1st Base: Tarrik Brock
3rd Base: Joey Cora
Hitting: Rick Eckstein
Asst. Hitting: Mike Rabelo
Pitching: Oscar Marin
Bullpen: Justin Meccage
Coach: Glenn Sherlock
The press release from today also announced that two coaches are remaining with the team:
Coaching Assistant: Herbie Andrade
Bullpen Catcher: Jordan Comadena
