The Giants’ search for a new head hitting coach may already have a front-runner.
Hunter Mense is headed to the Kansas City Royals as an assistant hitting coach, leaving San Francisco with an opening to fill. On Tuesday, a possible candidate surfaced when Greg Joyce of The New York Post reported that Yankees hitting coach James Rowson is now a free agent and is speaking with other clubs.
Robert Murray of FanSided added that there is plenty of interest in the Yankees’ hitting coach. That matters because there are only a handful of openings at the top of the hitting-coach market right now. The Giants, Yankees and Los Angeles Angels are the only teams with a vacancy for a head hitting coach.
The Angels are also one of just two clubs without a manager at the moment. Teams can hire key assistants before naming a manager, but that usually does not happen often. The Houston Astros are the example here, having hired Victor Rodriguez as their hitting coach before bringing in a manager.
Rowson would bring plenty of experience. He has worked on the hitting side with the Minnesota Twins from 2017-2019 and with the Detroit Tigers in 2023.
After the 2023 season, he joined the Yankees’ staff. Before that, he spent two seasons as the Miami Marlins’ bench coach beginning in 2020.
There are also assistant hitting coach jobs open with the Angels and Astros, though that would seem like a step down for a coach with Rowson’s background.
The Giants clearly need someone in place, and they may not be waiting long. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that they are on the verge of hiring a new coach, and he also noted several other staff changes.
Last offseason, it took a while for Tony Vitello to lock in his staff. This time, that does not appear to be the case. With so few openings available and Rowson now on the market, the fit with San Francisco looks obvious.
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Bryce Eldridge Just Got The Perfect Fuel For A Bigger 2027
Bryce Eldridges rookie season gave the Giants enough reason to believe they may have found something real, even if the broader league did not fully catch up yet. He finished with only two fifth-place votes in National League Rookie of the Year voting, a reminder that awards often reward the loudest full-season cases, not always the player who looks like he is just starting to turn the corner. Sal Stewart of the Reds took the honor after playing all 162 games and putting up the kind of power numbers that tend to stick in voters minds.
For San Francisco, though, Eldridges case is less about where he landed in one award race and more about what came next. He got into 107 games, posted a higher OPS, and still looked like a player with more growth ahead of him than behind him. If the rookie year was the introduction, the Giants have every reason to think the next step could be the one that changes how the rest of the league talks about him. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Offseason Plans Hinge On One Financial Question
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What makes the planning trickier is that the next Collective Bargaining Agreement cycle could change the luxury tax threshold and the penalties tied to it, which would alter how aggressive the Giants can be in the market. They can identify the free-agent pitchers and bullpen upgrades they want, but how far they can actually go may depend on a financial landscape that is still very much in flux. [Read more 🡒]
Giants May Already Have A First Pitching Fix In Mind
After a disappointing season, the Giants are expected to spend the winter looking for ways to steady a pitching staff that never quite found its footing. One name that has started to surface as a possible fit is Nick Martinez, with Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report predicting San Francisco could target the veteran right-hander on a two-year deal.
Martinez has built a case through his recent performance, and his profile makes him an interesting match for a club that needs reliability as much as upside. He is hardly the only arm the Giants could chase in free agency, but the idea of landing a pitcher with some momentum behind him gives the front office a practical place to start as it sorts through rotation options. [Read more 🡒]