Kristopher Negron

Kristopher David Negrón (born February 1, 1986) is an American former professional baseball utility player and current bench coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He played every defensive position in MLB except pitcher and catcher, spending the most time at third base and second base.

Early life Negrón was born in New Jersey and later attended Vanden High School in Fairfield, California. He played baseball, football, and track in high school. His mother, Mary, is Dominican, and his father, Dan, is Puerto Rican. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round, 223rd overall, of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft.

Playing career Boston Red Sox Negrón started his first professional season batting .234 in his first 25 games for the rookie class Gulf Coast League Red Sox. However, over the final 16 games he hit .292 with two home runs and 10 runs batted in. In 2007, Negron started the season with the Single–A Greenville Drive. He hit .226 with three home runs and 29 RBI.

Negrón showed strong numbers against left-handed pitching in 2008, hitting a combined .355 with a .600 slugging percentage. He finished the season with a total combined average of .265. He set career highs with eight home runs, 24 doubles and 46 RBI. Negrón spent the first 111 games of his 2009 season with the Salem Red Sox, the new High–A team of the Red Sox. He hit .264 with three homers and 34 RBI. After eight games with the Sarasota Reds, he was promoted to the Double-A Carolina Mudcats. He hit .241 in 54 at-bats. He returned to Louisville after four appearances with the Reds, where he had the one hit in four at-bats. He played for Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League after the season. His playing time was significant for the injury-ravaged Reds; he made the most of it with a three-game stretch against the Cleveland Indians August 5–7, going a combined 7–15 with two doubles, one home run and five RBIs. On August 15, playing against the Colorado Rockies, he had his first four-hit game, going 4–4 with four singles and one RBI. Overall, he hit .271 with six homers and 17 RBI in 49 games for the Reds in 2014. He was released by the Reds in October and became a free agent.

Arizona Diamondbacks On November 21, 2016, Negrón signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was assigned to the Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast League, where he hit .300 in 120 games with 13 homers and 64 RBI. He had four hits in 25 at–bats (.160) for the Diamondbacks that season in 14 games. before he was designated for assignment on June 6 and outrighted back to Reno. He was outrighted to the Triple–A Tacoma Rainiers on March 13, 2019, when he did not make the roster out of spring training In his first at bat with the team, Negron hit a home run off Kyle Freeland of the Colorado Rockies. He was placed on the injured list on August 20, returning to the team on August 30. He played in 30 games for the Dodgers, hitting .259.

Coaching career Seattle Mariners Negrón announced his retirement from professional baseball on November 12, 2019. On November 19, Negrón was hired by the Seattle Mariners as assistant to the director of player development. On January 27, 2021, Negrón was announced as the manager for the Tacoma Rainiers, the Mariners Triple-A affiliate. The Rainiers were the 2021 Triple-A West Champions and Negrón was named Triple-A West manager of the year.

In 2022, Negrón became the first base coach for the Mariners. On April 20, he made his debut as the interim Mariners manager, while manager Scott Servais was unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19. The Mariners beat the Texas Rangers that day under Negrón's management.

Pittsburgh Pirates On November 15, 2025, Negrón was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as their bench coach.

Personal Negrón and his wife, Allison, met in 2005 as students at UC Davis and married in 2010. They have twin sons, Gianni and Lorenzo, who were born in June 2021. They live in Napa, California.