Former Pirate Bell joins Bucs as new hitting coach

The Pittsburgh Pirates named 1990s fixture Jay Bell their hitting coach on Wednesday, one of three additions to manager Clint Hurdle's staff.

Rick Sofield was named first-base coach and Dave Jauss was named a Major League coach. Former first-base coach Luis Silverio has become a senior advisor to Latin American operations.

Bell, who turns 47 in December, played 18 seasons in the Majors from 1986-2003. Most of those were in Pittsburgh, where he spent eight seasons from 1989-96. He hit .269 with 78 home runs for the Pirates, and hit .265 lifetime.

Turning 56 in December, Sofield managed at Class A West Virginia in the South Atlantic League this season. Jauss, 56 in January, was a special assistant to general manager Neal Huntington this season, after serving as a bench coach for the Dodgers, Orioles and Mets from 2006-10.