The SF Giants are losing another familiar face from their coaching staff, with Alex Burg reportedly headed to the Cleveland Guardians as a quality control coach, according to Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News.
Burg’s departure adds to a coaching shuffle that has already touched several corners of the Giants’ staff this offseason. Hunter Mense left for the Kansas City Royals after one year as the team’s head hitting coach, and while San Francisco has not fully replaced that position yet, it did announce James Rowson as offensive coordinator. Rowson will oversee hitting and baserunning.
The Giants also made a handful of other changes. Christian Wonders and Shane Robinson were reassigned to the minors, Taira Uematsu is taking over as the first base coach, and Frank Anderson was moved from Director of Pitching to assistant pitching coach.
For Cleveland, Burg is the latest Giants coach to make the jump in recent years. After Bob Melvin took over following the 2023 season, Kai Correa and Craig Albernaz both joined the Guardians.
Albernaz has since become the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, while Correa is now the bench coach for the New York Mets. Alyssa Nakken also joined Cleveland in a player development role in 2025.
Burg had been one of the Giants’ longest-tenured coaches. He arrived in 2022 as bullpen catcher, spent two seasons in that job, then moved into the catching coach role.
Before the 2026 season, when Tony Vitello took over, San Francisco expanded Burg’s duties to include field coordinator. That turned out to be his final season with the club.
His new job also brings him back together with Patrick Bailey, whom he coached during Bailey’s back-to-back Gold Glove seasons. Quality control coach is often viewed as a path to a bigger role, and Stephen Vogt followed that route in his lone season with the Seattle Mariners before landing in Cleveland as manager.
It’s a real loss for the Giants, too. Bailey’s defense offered a clear snapshot of Burg’s impact, and San Francisco is expected to rely on less experienced catchers in 2027, including Daniel Susac and Drew Cavanaugh. That means the Giants will likely need to find someone to fill Burg’s place.
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