Photo provided by Matt Lynch.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will not renew the contracts of pitching coach Oscar Marin, assistant pitching coach and third base coach Mike Rabelo, a source confirmed to Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
Marin was brought in under former manager Derek Shelton as part of his original staff. Prior to joining the Pirates’ coaching staff, Marin served as bullpen coach for the Texas Rangers in 2019 and was the Seattle Mariners minor-league pitching coordinator from 2017-18. He began his coaching career as a minor-league pitching coach.
The move comes as somewhat of a surprise given the Pirates’ underwhelming season was largely due to offensive woes, not struggles from the pitching staff. Pittsburgh finished seventh in team ERA in 2025 (3.76) and sixth in rotation ERA (3.71).
Marin, 42, oversaw a pitching staff led by National League Cy Young frontrunner Paul Skenes and helped rookies Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows and Bubba Chandler find success during their first extended chances in the big leagues.
Strom, 76, was in his first season as assistant pitching coach under Marin. Strom had served as pitching coach for the Houston Astros from 2014-21 and for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2022-24 before joining the Pirates.
Like Marin, Rabelo was part of Shelton’s original staff and was initially hired as Pittsburgh’s assistant hitting coach. After serving as the clubs Major League field coordinator in 2021, Rabelo expanded his role and was named third base coach for the 2022 season.
Rabelo, 45, assumed more responsibilities this season once Kelly was promoted to manager in May, providing assistance in game planning and in-game strategy.
The Pirates announced on Monday that they extended the contract of manager Don Kelly. His first major decisions in the full-time role will be deciding who will fill the voids on his coaching staff. Additionally, Kelly will have to hire a bench coach since no replacement was named during the 2025 season.
It is unclear at this time whether or not the Pirates will make more changes to their coaching staff. Kelly said during a press conference on Monday that he will have discussions with general manager Ben Cherington “over the next couple days.”
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