Coaching Notes: Giants, Angels, Athletics
Bob Melvin’s upcoming interview with the Giants has only increased the speculation that the Padres manager could soon be taking over in San Francisco’s dugout, to the point that Melvin’s prospective coaching staff might already be coming into view. According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Melvin “would be likely” to bring Padres third base coach Matt Williams along with him from San Diego to San Francisco. Williams was a four-time All-Star with the Giants during his playing career, and two other former Giants players are also under consideration for coaching roles — Pat Burrell as a new hitting coach, and Ryan Vogelsong as the new pitching coach.
Justin Viele, Pedro Guerrero and Dustin Lind are the Giants’ trio of incumbent hitting coaches, yet given the club’s lackluster offense in 2023, it isn’t surprising change might be coming. The pitching staff’s results were more up-and-down, yet Slusser notes that pitching coach Andrew Bailey “is extremely well regarded” and has often been considered by other teams for jobs in their organizations. If Vogelsong did become pitching coach, the Giants could look to retain Bailey as bench coach or as the director of pitching, but Bailey also might prefer a new role with a team nearer to his family on the East Coast. Vogelsong has been working as a roving instructor within the Giants organization, while Burrell has been the hitting coach for the Giants’ Single-A affiliate.
More on other coaching situations around baseball…
- The Angels have hired Dom Chiti as a minor league pitching coordinator, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports (via X). Chiti previously worked for Los Angeles as a special assistant and then as bullpen coach from 2020-22, before joining the Mets as their bullpen coach for the 2023 season. The 64-year-old Chiti has over four decades of experience in a variety of coaching and front office roles with the Angels, Mets, Rangers, Indians, and Orioles.
- The Athletics are parting ways with bullpen coach Mike McCarthy, Fangraphs’ David Laurila writes. 2023 was McCarthy’s first year on Oakland’s coaching staff, and his first year on a big league staff altogether. Before joining the A’s, McCarthy spent five seasons coaching for the Triple-A affiliates of the Padres and Twins.
Athletics Name Darren Bush Bench Coach
The Athletics have announced a number of coaching assignments for the upcoming season. Darren Bush is the new bench coach, with Mike McCarthy named the bullpen coach, Marcus Jensen quality control coach, Mike Aldrete first base coach and Eric Martins third base coach. Meanwhile, pitching coach Scott Emerson, hitting coach Tommy Everidge and assistant hitting coach Chris Cron will stay on in the same roles.
Brad Ausmus was the club’s bench coach in 2022 but it was reported a few weeks ago that he wouldn’t return to the role. That left a vacancy that Bush will now step into. The 48-year-old played in the minors around the turn of the millenium and then transitioned into coaching after his playing days were done. He joined the A’s in the 2005 season, coaching in the minors, eventually moving up to the big league staff for the 2013 season.
After Bob Melvin departed the manager’s chair in Oakland one year ago for the same role in San Diego, Bush was one of the internal candidates to be considered as his replacement. The job eventually went to Mark Kotsay, with Bush moving from hitting coach to third base/run prevention coach.
Among the other names in today’s announcement, they were all already in the organization except for McCarthy, who had been the pitching coach for the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate this year.