The Pittsburgh Pirates have an agreement in place to add Radley Haddad, who spent five years with the New York Yankees as a coaching assistant and bullpen catcher, to their major league coaching staff in a new role.
Haddad, 31, will be named the Pirates’ game planning and strategy coach, a source confirmed to the Tribune-Review.
Haddad, a native of Carmel, Ind., signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent catcher after playing his first two seasons at Western Carolina and his final two at Butler, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance. He spent four years in the Yankees’ farm system, rising to Double-A Trenton, before being offered the bullpen catcher job on Opening Day 2017.
Haddad is the latest move in Pirates manager Derek Shelton’s shuffling of his coaching staff. Shelton also was a catcher in the Yankees’ system in 1992-93, and later was a minor league manager for three seasons.
The Pirates fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein in late August and third base coach Joey Cora at the conclusion of the season. This past week, they came to an agreement with Andy Haines to become the hitting coach and added third base coaching duties for Mike Rabelo, who will retain his responsibilities as major league field coordinator.
The Pirates have yet to publicly announce any of these moves.
