DETROIT -- The Tigers will have at least one change to their three-man group of hitting coaches. Keith Beauregard, part of manager A.J. Hinch’s staff for the last three seasons, will not return, according to a source.
Beauregard joins first-base coach Anthony Iapoce as departures from a Tigers coaching staff that remained intact from 2024 into 2025. The Tigers have yet to announce any coaching changes and have not confirmed the move, which was first reported by the Detroit Free Press.
The 42-year-old Beauregard joined the Tigers' staff from the Dodgers' organization following the 2022 season; in L.A., he had been an organizational hitting instructor and field coordinator. He was hired alongside Michael Brdar and James Rowson as a hitting coach trio designed to reach every player on the roster, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Rowson left after one season to become the Yankees’ hitting coach, and was replaced by Lance Zawadzki.
The three-man approach reflected the increasing daily duties that hitting coaches tackle from individual swing work to game planning and scouting reports. Beauregard also helped Tigers hitters in their offseason work during winters in Arizona. It paid dividends with the emergence of young hitters Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter.
The collective work helped the Tigers turn a collection of up-and-coming young hitters and role players into an offense that steadily improved from year to year. The Tigers finished 13th in the American League in runs per game and OPS in 2023, ninth and 11th in 2024, then fifth and sixth this season in the respective categories. Greene has blossomed into a two-time All-Star and bona fide slugger, though he set a Tigers record with 201 strikeouts this season. Torkelson rebounded from a rough 2024 season to post his second 31-homer campaign in three years along with a career-best 117 OPS+. Carpenter has established himself as one of baseball’s most dangerous hitters against right-handed pitching.
The Tigers’ offense slumped down the stretch, part of a late-season struggle that helped cost Detroit a division title and prompted president of baseball operations Scott Harris to discuss the need for more consistent contact at the plate. At the same time, Harris said their progress has been profound.
“There were times when this team looked like it was rolling, when we were executing at a really high level in all phases of the game,” Harris said at the Tigers’ end-of-season media session earlier this month. “We were putting a ton of pressure on opposing starters in the first inning, driving up pitch counts, holding the zone, coming through in big spots and playing a brand of baseball that could beat opposing teams in a number of ways. …
“Our players and our coaches in that clubhouse deserve a ton of credit for all that stuff. I'm really proud of them for all that stuff that's really hard to do, and it's especially impressive for a young group that's still entering their prime right now. So we’ve got a lot to be proud of from this season.”