PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates need great pitching for them to reach their ultimate goals in 2027 and they are bolstering their coaching staff to do that.
The Pirates are hiring Houston Astros Triple-A pitching coach Sean Buchanan, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Pirates will have Buchanan working in the upper levels of the minor league system, but that there is no official role yet.
This would mark the Pirates' first coaching hire this offseason and could be a big addition for their pitching efforts going into next season.
What There is to Know About Sean Buchanan
Buchanan was the Triple-A Sugar Land pitching coach for the past two seasons and the Astros' organizational pitching coach for the past five seasons.
Sugar Land allowed the fewest runs and earned runs in the Pacific Coast League, with the third-lowest ERA (4.97), along with the lowest BAA (.248) and led the PCL with nine shutouts in 2025.
They were also strong in 2026, with the lowest WHIP (1.40) and BAA (.243) the second-lowest ERA (4.51), second-most shutouts (nine) and strikeouts (1,346).
Buchanan previously worked as the pitching coach for Double-A Corpus Christi in 2024, High-A Asheville in 2023 and the Florida Complex League Astros Blue in 2022.
He was credited with helping Astros right-handed starting pitcher Peter Lambert become the best in the rotation in 2026, per a story from Rome.
Lambert finished with an 8-10 record in 29 starts, a 3.82 ERA over 155.2 innings pitched, 154 strikeouts to 59 walks, a .232 BAA and a 1.25 WHIP.
Buchanan also spent eight seasons at seven different stops at the collegiate level. This includes Lehigh (Division I), Division III schools Albright College, Bard College, SUNY New Paltz and DeSales University, NAIA school Ave Maria University and NJCAA school Dutchess Community College.
What Buchanan Has with the Pirates in 2027
The Pirates hire Buchanan a year after they hired Astros pitching coach Bill Murphy as their MLB pitching coach.
Murphy and Buchanan worked together in Houston and will now get to do so in Pittsburgh, but across the major league and minor league teams.
The Pirates have a strong rotation heading into 2027, including 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, 2026 All-Star Braxton Ashcraft, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler.
Pittsburgh also has some solid bullpen pieces in left-handed closer Mason Montgomery, right-handed setup man Luke Weaver and middle relievers in Lake Bachar, Carmen Mlodzinski and Yohan Ramírez.
The Pirates have young pitchers that Buchanan will get to work with, such as left-handed Hunter Barco and right-handed Khristian Curtis, Wilber Dotel and Antwone Kelly, who could feature in different roles on the major league pitching staff next season.
Buchanan will likely also get the chance to see top prospects in Seth Hernandez, Reinold Navarro, Levi Sterling and Connor Wietgrefe during Spring Training too, getting them ready for the major leagues in the upcoming years.
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