PITTSBURGH -- On Monday, the Pirates announced that hitting coach Jeff Branson and assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey will not return next season after spending the last five years on Pittsburgh's Major League staff.
"We appreciate all of the time, energy and effort that Jeff and Jeff put into the team," general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. "Both are high-character, hard-working, good baseball men. We felt that this was the right time to take our Major League hitting program in a different direction."
The Pirates will need to replace both hitting coaches, but the club announced that they expect no further changes to manager Clint Hurdle's coaching staff.