The Pittsburgh Pirates formally announced Thursday morning the hiring of Matt Hague as hitting coach, bringing back a former farmhand who has a reputation for being an effective communicator and embracing new methods of teaching and technology.

A former Pirates ninth-round pick, Hague made his major league debut with the club in 2012. After 11 professional seasons, including one in Japan, the 39-year-old Hague spent four seasons as a minor-league hitting coach in the Toronto Blue Jays system, starting in High-A, spending two seasons in Double-A and one in Triple-A before being promoted to assistant hitting coach on the major-league staff last season.

“We’re very excited to add Matt to our group as he adds a blend of both playing and coaching experience combined with really strong relationships,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said in a statement. “The feedback we got from players he’s worked with previously has been outstanding. We look forward to him leading our hitting team moving forward.”

Hague replaces Andy Haines, who was fired in October after three seasons. The Pirates finished 14th (out of 15 teams) in the National League in hits, strikeouts, batting average (.234) and on-base percentage (.301) and last in slugging (.371) and OPS (.672) last season.