The SF Giants have already made their biggest coaching move of the offseason, but the staff picture still isn’t finished.
On Thursday, the club announced the hiring of James Rowson as offensive coordinator, a role that Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports will likely come with at least one more addition - another hitting coach. Rowson’s title is a new one in Giants history, making him the first offensive coordinator the franchise has ever had.
His job description is broad, but the focus is clear. Pavlovic reports that Rowson will oversee hitting and baserunning, two areas that have been sore spots for the Giants in recent seasons. Baserunning, in particular, has been a major issue; the team has been one of the worst in baseball in that department.
That makes the role especially important given the makeup of the roster. Jonah Cox’s promotion drew a positive reaction from many Giants fans because of his speed and his ability to actually turn that speed into value on the bases.
The Giants do have several runners who are above average in raw speed, but not nearly enough who have translated that into impact baserunning. Rowson’s challenge is to change that.
While Rowson will oversee the offense, he is expected to work with two hitting coaches. Oscar Bernard will stay on staff as an assistant hitting coach, continuing in the role he has held for the past two seasons. He is one of the few holdovers from Bob Melvin’s coaching staff.
Bernard also has a strong relationship with Rafael Devers. The left-handed hitter got off to a rough start, but still finished with one of his best seasons at the plate and ranked among the best hitters in baseball.
The Giants still need a head hitting coach, and there are both outside and internal names to watch. Rowson previously served as the Minnesota Twins’ hitting coach from 2017-2019, and Rudy Hernández was his assistant there.
Hernández held that role for nearly a decade, and he also overlapped with Jayce Tingler when Tingler was Minnesota’s bench coach. The Twins moved on from Hernández after the 2024 season, and those kinds of connections often help open the door to an interview.
There are also in-house options. Mike Marjama was the hitting coach for the San Jose Giants in 2025, his first season in the organization after three years as a hitting coach in the Miami Marlins system. Tommy Everidge served as the hitting coach for the Richmond Flying Squirrels last season after working in the Oakland A’s and Washington Nationals organizations, including a two-year stint as Oakland’s hitting coach.
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