Astros Lose Triple-A Pitching Coach Sean Buchanan to Pirates, Per Report

The Astros are losing Triple-A pitching coach Sean Buchanan to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported Tuesday on X, citing sources. Rome posted at 2:16 p.m. CT that Buchanan's "exact role is still being determined, but he will reunite with longtime Astros pitching coach Bill Murphy in Pittsburgh."

Update, Oct. 27, 4:46 PM CT: Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, citing a source, that the Pirates plan to have Buchanan working in the upper levels of the minor league system, with some details and his exact title still to be determined. In a follow-up, Beazley noted Buchanan's obvious ties to pitching coach Bill Murphy and wrote that general manager Ben Cherington has spoken about developing the pitching infrastructure around Murphy.

Buchanan was in his second season as pitching coach for the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys and also served as an assistant pitching coordinator in Houston's farm system, per a January MiLB.com announcement. He joined the organization in 2022 as pitching coach for the Florida Complex League Astros Blue, then coached at High-A Asheville in 2023 and Double-A Corpus Christi in 2024 before moving to Sugar Land for 2025.

Murphy left Houston after the 2025 season to become Pittsburgh's pitching coach. Rome first reported that hire a year ago, MLB Trade Rumors relayed, and the Pirates later formally announced him after a four-year stint (2022-25) as Astros pitching coach.

In a follow-up, Rome wrote that Buchanan and Astros pitcher Peter Lambert "formed a very good rapport," and that Lambert credited Buchanan for adjustments that fueled his breakout season.

The move adds to Houston's coaching turnover while the franchise still has no general manager and no manager in place after parting with Joe Espada earlier this month.

Around the MLB

• Mets adding Mariano Duncan to their major league coaching staff. MLB Trade Rumors, citing the New York Post's Joel Sherman, reported the move Monday. MLB.com wrote that Duncan, 63, will help position players in multiple areas and also serve as a batting-practice pitcher. He spent the past five seasons as Double-A Binghamton's bench coach. The Mets have not confirmed the hire.

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