PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates finalized their Major League coaching staff on Tuesday by hiring Mike Rabelo as their new assistant hitting coach.

Rabelo, who will turn 40 next week, most recently served as the Double-A Erie manager in Detroit’s Minor League system. Rabelo led Erie’s prospect-laden rotation to a 77-61 record in the Eastern League. The Tigers didn’t promote Rabelo to Triple-A, however, instead hiring former Pirates bench coach Tom Prince to manage their Toledo affiliate.

Rabelo was set to return to Erie for the 2020 season, but the Bucs offered him his first Major League coaching opportunity.

Pittsburgh had to revamp its coaching staff over the last six weeks after bringing manager Derek Shelton on board. In that time, the Pirates hired bench coach Don Kelly, pitching coach Oscar Marin, first-base coach Tarrik Brock, coach Glenn Sherlock and Rabelo.

The club retained hitting coach Rick Eckstein, third-base coach Joey Cora, bullpen coach Justin Meccage, coaching assistant Heberto Andrade and bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena from last year’s staff. Jacob Cruz, Rabelo’s predecessor as Eckstein’s assistant hitting coach, left to take on the same role with the Brewers.

Rabelo and Kelly were both drafted by the Tigers in 2001, Rabelo in the fourth round and Kelly in the eighth. Rabelo, a switch-hitting catcher, played professionally for 10 seasons and eventually reached the Majors, playing one game for the Detroit in '06 and 51 games in ’07 before he was dealt to Miami as part of the Miguel Cabrera trade. Rabelo played 34 games for the Marlins in ‘08.

Rabelo’s Minor League coaching career began in 2011, when he served as hitting coach for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Tigers. He spent two more years as a hitting coach with Class A Short-Season Connecticut in 2012-13, then earned his first managerial assignment with Connecticut from 2014-16.

Overall, Rabelo posted a 358-274 record in six seasons as a Minor League manager, all of them in Detroit’s organization. He finished with a winning record in all but one season and earned Midwest League Manager of the Year honors in 2017 after leading the Class A West Michigan Whitecaps to a 91-win season.