The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that Jacob Cruz has been hired as the club's Assistant Hitting Coach. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President, General Manager Neal Huntington and Manager Clint Hurdle.
The 45-year-old Cruz spent the last two seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization, working as the Minor League hitting coordinator in 2018 and as the Hitting Coach with Double-A Tennessee in 2017.
Cruz began his coaching career in 2011 as the hitting coach for Arizona's short season team in Yakima. He spent a total of six seasons (2011-16) in the Diamondbacks organization before joining the Cubs in 2017.
A former first-round selection by San Francisco in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft, Cruz spent parts of nine seasons playing in the Major Leagues between 1996 and 2005 with the Giants, Indians, Rockies, Tigers and Reds.