The Pirates made two changes to their Major League coaching staff on Friday, moving Mike Rabelo into a new role in the dugout and hiring a new assistant hitting coach to replace him.

Rabelo, who was Pittsburgh’s assistant hitting coach last year, will now serve as the club’s Major League field coordinator. This position will have him working with the entire big league coaching staff “to ensure alignment,” according to the Pirates’ announcement, and he will also “take a leadership position on the use of technology and innovation at the Major League level.”

Rabelo, who previously served as a manager in the Tigers’ system before joining the Pirates, will also advise and assist manager Derek Shelton and bench coach Don Kelly on rules, in-game strategy and practice design. He will also be the primary liaison between Pittsburgh’s big league staff and the player development system in an effort to create consistency across the organization.

With the Pirates’ young roster and more prospects on the way over the next few years, along with a new farm director in John Baker, Rabelo’s latter responsibility -- creating consistency in message and execution up and down the organization -- seems like a point of emphasis for the club.

New to the coaching staff is Christian Marrero, who will work alongside hitting coach Rick Eckstein in an effort to improve the Pirates’ offense after a brutal year at the plate. The 34-year-old spent the previous three seasons as a hitting coach in the Phillies’ system, working with Class A Short Season Williamsport in 2018 and Class A Lakewood after that.

Marrero, a former first baseman and outfielder, played parts of 12 Minor League seasons with the White Sox, Pirates, Braves and Phillies.

The Pirates hit just .220/.284/.357 as a team last year, finishing the season with an MLB-worst .641 OPS and 219 runs scored, although they saw some encouraging performances from rookie third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, first baseman/designated hitter Colin Moran and catcher Jacob Stallings. Eckstein and Marrero will be charged with helping players like Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman and Gregory Polanco rediscover their past form at the plate.