After stepping in as interim manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates, former Detroit Tigers utility player Don Kelly is surrounding himself with some familiar faces from his days in Detroit.
On Friday, the Pirates announced that Gene Lamont, a former Tigers bench coach, and ex-Tigers third baseman Chris Truby will be joining Kelly’s major league coaching staff.
Lamont, who previously managed the Pirates from 1997 to 2000, returns to serve as a special advisor to Kelly. Truby, who began the season managing Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate, has been promoted to a role as a major league coach.
Lamont has deep ties to both the Tigers and the Pirates. A first-round draft pick by Detroit in 1965, he made his MLB debut with the team in 1970 and played in 87 games during his career. After his playing days, Lamont built a long coaching and managerial career, including managing the White Sox and Pirates in the 1990s. He worked closely with longtime manager Jim Leyland, first as a third-base coach in Pittsburgh and later rejoining Leyland in Detroit as his bench coach from 2006 to 2013, staying with the team through the Brad Ausmus era until 2017.
Lamont was with the Tigers during Kelly’s playing tenure from 2009 to 2014, adding familiarity and continuity to the new coaching setup.
Chris Truby, though he missed crossing paths with Lamont and Kelly in Detroit, has been part of the Pirates’ organization for over three years. A former third baseman, Truby made his MLB debut with the Houston Astros in 2000 and enjoyed a strong rookie campaign, hitting .260 with 11 home runs. However, he was unable to replicate that performance during his time with the Expos, Tigers, and Rays.
Truby joined the Tigers in 2002 after being traded by the Expos and appeared in 89 games, hitting just .199 with two home runs. His last major league action came in 2003, and he retired from playing in 2007 after a stint with the Indianapolis Indians — the same Triple-A team he now manages, where he has led the team to a 23–17 record this season.
The Tigers-Pirates coaching pipeline has been well-traveled over the years, largely due to Jim Leyland’s influence. Now, as Don Kelly takes the reins in Pittsburgh, he’s building his staff with familiar and trusted names from his Tigers past.
