The Pirates hired Rick Eckstein to be their new hitting coach, the team announced Friday.
Eckstein most recently served as the Twins minor-league hitting coordinator for two years. He was the Nationals hitting coach from 2009 to mid-2013.
Eckstein is the older brother of noted scrappy guy David Eckstein.
The Pirates let go previous hitting coach Jeff Branson, along with assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey, at the conclusion of the 2018 season.