New coach to address Bucs' infield defense

In his end-of-season media availability, general manager Ben Cherington said any additions to the Pirates’ coaching staff would be additive not subtractive. Several weeks into the offseason, that has proven to be the case.

At the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, Cherington discussed the impending addition of Mendy López to Pittsburgh’s coaching staff, where he will assist bench coach Don Kelly with infield defense.

“[Kelly] is terrific, but he’s a bench coach also. We had talked about maybe at some point finding someone who could help Donnie with the infield defense,” Cherington said. “Mendy is also just so well-respected. … He’s so well-respected on the islands [López is Dominican], so well-respected inside our organization. I think he brings an element to our staff that would be very valuable.”

Cherington said he is not anticipating any additional changes to the Major League coaching staff.

López, 49, has spent most of the past decade in various coaching roles with the Pirates. From 2014-16, he managed the Dominican Summer League Pirates. From 2017-19, as well as in '21, López was the Pirates’ Latin American field coordinator. This past season, he was the hitting coach for Single-A Bradenton.

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, López spent seven seasons in the Majors (1998-2004), suiting up for the Royals, Marlins, Astros and Pirates. He spent part of 2004 with the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization as well. Following his Major League career, López played an additional eight seasons in Mexico (2006-13).

Primarily a shortstop in the Majors, López also saw time at first, second and third base. That experience will be valuable as he works with young infielders such as Oneil Cruz, Rodolfo Castro, Diego Castillo and Ji Hwan Bae. While Ke’Bryan Hayes finished last season with 24 defensive runs saved -- the most among all position players -- the Pirates overall finished with minus-1 defensive runs saved and a league-leading 121 errors.

Cruz and Castro, in particular, exhibited raw talent in their first full season, but both are in need of polish. In 2022, Castro finished with minus-3 outs above average at second base, while Cruz finished with minus-9 at shortstop.

Regarding the Minor League coaching staff, Cherington said “there may be a little work left to do,” but the coaching core is mostly set.

“There will be some re-alignment and guys in new spots,” Cherington said. "We started talking last year about trying to create an environment in Triple-A that’s as close as possible to the big leagues in every way. In terms of how we’re preparing for games and the information that’s there and the tech, the coaching staff, it’s not going to be the same. You’re never going to have exactly the same amount of resources. That’s something we may look to do, try to take another step toward, making sure at the highest level we’ve got coaching support that’s as close to as we’re going to get in the big leagues. Wouldn’t expect huge expansion, but there will be a few changes.”