Former Blue Jay pulling strings for new team
Photo credit: Sportsnet
When the Blue Jays parted ways with hitting coach Guillermo Mart�nez, Matt Hague, a former big leaguer, was left wondering what the change meant for his future. Hague had spent five years in the Jays organization, having been promoted to assistant hitting coach prior to the 2024 season.
Although Hague was never fired, he ultimately left the Blue Jays for a new position with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As it turns out, one of his former pupils may have played a role in the Pirates luring him away from Toronto.
During his time in Toronto, IKF's numbers were solid: a .292 batting average, .338 on-base percentage, and a 116 OPS+, along with seven home runs and 33 RBIs in 83 games. However, his production dropped after the trade, as he struggled in 50 games with the Pirates, hitting just .240 with an OPS+ of 65.
Part of IKF's success in Toronto could be credited to the work he did with Matt Hague. This relationship may have played a role in the Pirates' decision to approach Kiner-Falefa for his opinion about his former coach.
«IKF was one of the people we talked to,» explained Pirates manager Derek Shelton, himself a former Blue Jays coach.
«We talked to not only guys here but also players from other places where he had been in Toronto. IKF spoke very highly of him. It wasn't directly correlated, because IKF came from Toronto, but he had a lot of positive things to say about how Matt was. When you get firsthand feedback from one of your players about a guy's demeanor in the cage, that's hard to quantify in an interview process. So, I think the player portion of it was really important to us.» - Pirates Manager Derek Shelton
The Pirates and Blue Jays have several shared connections beyond Hague and Kiner-Falefa. In addition to Shelton and Hague, Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington was a former assistant GM of the Blue Jays. The Pirates also recently acquired first baseman Spencer Horwitz, who will now be reunited with IKF, his former partner across the diamond in Toronto.
Matt Hague was officially hired by the Pirates last month, marking the latest in a series of connections between the two organizations.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 15 | 162 ANSWERS Former Blue Jay pulling strings for new team Should the Blue Jays have traded Kiner-Falefa? | ||
| Yes | 54 | 33.3 % |
| No | 108 | 66.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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