{"id":559272,"date":"2026-02-07T07:40:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T07:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/559272\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T07:40:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T07:40:01","slug":"giants-lean-on-tony-vitellos-connections-finally-announce-new-coaching-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/559272\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants lean on Tony Vitello\u2019s connections, finally announce new coaching staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the \u201cSection 415\u201d podcast wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not only is the manager new, but the Giants have made wholesale changes throughout a coaching staff that was assembled months ago and has finally been announced.<\/p>\n

New hitting coaches, pitching coaches, base coaches, and a bench coach make this the biggest makeover since Gabe Kapler replaced Bruce Bochy in 2020.<\/p>\n

Several new coaches have links to Tony Vitello\u2019s college days at Missouri and Tennessee; others have various degrees of pro experience.<\/p>\n

This was not just Vitello handpicking his staff. President of baseball operations Buster Posey and his assistants also were heavily involved. Posey called it a collaboration: \u201cI don\u2019t think it would be fair for me to come in and say, \u2018I am going to choose every single person.\u2019 That\u2019s just not the way that I think is best or, vice versa, for him to operate that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giants fans will need a scorecard to tell the coaches apart. Here\u2019s a quick look at the new staff.<\/p>\n

Jayce Tingler, bench coach<\/p>\n

Vitello\u2019s friend and old teammate at Missouri, Tingler brings big-league wisdom to the dugout as a former Padres manager and will be at Vitello\u2019s side to help with real-time decisions and advice. He most recently was bench coach with the Twins. Vitello and Tingler have been talking about reuniting for years, whether in college or the pros \u2014 \u201ca partnership that we had thought about for a long time,\u201d Vitello said. With Ron Washington on the field staff and Bochy and Dusty Baker serving as front-office advisers, Vitello has four former managers he can lean on for advice.<\/p>\n

Justin Meccage, pitching coach<\/p>\n

One of the Giants\u2019 biggest offseason losses was pitching coach J.P. Martinez, who oversaw a staff that posted the majors\u2019 10th best ERA but opted for the security of another job (bullpen coach in Atlanta) rather than waiting out the process in San Francisco. Meccage comes aboard with experience in both the college and pro ranks. He coached at Texas-Pan American and Arkansas State and turned to pro ball in 2011 in the Pirates\u2019 system. He was promoted to the majors in 2018 as assistant pitching coach and moved to bullpen coach in 2020. This past season, he was a Triple-A coach with the Brewers, so he worked with Jacob Misiorowski before the 6-foot-7 flamethrower burst into the majors. With the Giants, it\u2019ll be important for Meccage to take the young starters to the next level, starting with Carson Whisenhunt, Hayden Birdsong, Trevor McDonald, Blade Tidwell, and Carson Seymour.<\/p>\n

Frank Anderson, director of major league pitching<\/p>\n

Today<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

3 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday, Jan. 30<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Anderson, 66, coached in college the past four decades, most recently as Vitello\u2019s pitching coach at Tennessee. He was named interim head coach, albeit briefly, in Vitello\u2019s absence. Previously, he was Oklahoma State\u2019s head coach from 2004 through 2012. Over the years, more than 100 of his pitchers were drafted, 10 of whom were first-round picks, including four from Tennessee, where he was an instrumental part of the Volunteers\u2019 2024 national championship run. His son Brett Anderson pitched seven seasons for the Oakland A\u2019s, and if the elder Anderson has his son\u2019s sense of humor, this could be fun. Brett\u2019s post on social media when word surfaced that his dad was joining the Giants: \u201cHe helped develop me to pitch 12 yrs in the big leagues albeit being a terrible athlete \u2026 which is his fault in a way too\u201d<\/p>\n

Christian Wonders, assistant pitching coach <\/p>\n

At 33, Wonders is a year younger than Robbie Ray, but he\u2019s on the fast track, moving from a sports science instructor with the Padres to minor-league pitching coordinator of performance development with the Rays and now with the Giants, his third organization in three years. He has written about the science of pitching mechanics, with an emphasis on hip and knee rotation to blend the right power and movement. He stresses the use of medicine balls to \u201cbuild optimal tension into the ground, to force into the delivery,\u201d he wrote for a fitness facility called Cressey Sports Performance, where he was a pitching coordinator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jesse Chavez, bullpen coach<\/p>\n

Chavez goes directly from big-league pitcher to big-league coach and is expected to work closely with the Giants\u2019 new pitching coaches. The 42-year-old retired as a player last season, his 18th in the majors, and has been saying for years he wanted to get into coaching. He played for nine big-league teams, including the Oakland A\u2019s, and won a World Series ring with the 2021 Braves. Throughout his career, he was highly respected by teammates and an important voice in the clubhouse. He appeared in 657 games, including 85 starts.<\/p>\n

Hunter Mense, hitting coach<\/p>\n

Another link to Missouri, Mense played for Mizzou when Vitello was an assistant coach. Last season, Mense was an assistant hitting coach with the pennant-winning Blue Jays, who did things right offensively, particularly with bat-to-ball skills. They led the majors in batting average and on-base percentage while posting the second fewest strikeouts. Mense previously served as Toronto\u2019s minor-league hitting coordinator. The hope is that he helps the Giants advance in areas that have been a problem, such as making better contact, advancing runners on the basepaths, and hitting with men in scoring position. Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins praised Mense\u2019s IQ and discipline at the GM meetings, saying he \u201cmade a big difference for us over the years.\u201d In Toronto, Mense worked alongside hitting coach David Popkins.<\/p>\n

Oscar Bernard, assistant hitting coach<\/p>\n

Bernard, a native Spanish speaker, quickly built a relationship with Rafael Devers, who was acquired from Boston in June, and the Giants had no intention of replacing him. Bernard joined the Giants last season after holding various jobs in the Padres\u2019 organization, including one season on the parent club when Bob Melvin was manager.<\/p>\n

Ron Washington, infield coach<\/p>\n

The best known of the new coaches, the 73-year-old Washington is an expert when it comes to working with infielders. He made many A\u2019s infielders better during his time in Oakland, and former third baseman Eric Chavez was so thankful that he presented Washington one of his six Gold Gloves. Washington had two managing stints: in Texas (he won two American League pennants) and, most recently, in Anaheim. Health issues forced him to miss a good chunk of the 2025 season, and he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery. He also coached in Atlanta and got a World Series ring. In San Francisco, he\u2019ll work with another Gold Glove third baseman, Matt Chapman (who also played in Oakland but missed Washington), and assist Rafael Devers, who\u2019s still learning to play first base. It\u2019s not an easy transition, as we know from the \u201cMoneyball\u201d movie and the famous scene with Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) and Washington (played by Brent Jennings). Beane told Scott Hatteberg, a catcher by trade, that he wants him to play first base for the A\u2019s and said, \u201cIt\u2019s not that hard, Scott. Tell him, Wash.\u201d To which Washington said, \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shane Robinson, first base coach A former major league outfielder who spent parts of five seasons with the Cardinals, Robinson worked as a bench coach in the Padres\u2019 organization, then served as an outfield coordinator for the New York Mets in 2023-24 before joining the Giants as an outfielder\/baserunning coordinator ahead of the 2025 season. Robinson overlapped with Posey in 2006 at Florida State, back when he was still a shortstop.<\/p>\n

Hector Borg,\u00a0third base coach<\/p>\n

A longtime coach in the Giants\u2019 organization, Borg became the coordinator of Latin American development after managing two clubs (Salem-Keizer in 2018, AZL Rookie League Team in 2017) and stints as an assistant for other lower-level affiliates.<\/p>\n

Alex Burg, field coordinator and catching coach<\/p>\n

In both of Burg\u2019s seasons as catching coach, Patrick Bailey won Gold Gloves. Burg was a bullpen catcher the previous two seasons.<\/p>\n

Taira Uematsu, quality-control coach<\/p>\n

The native of Tateyama, Japan, has been with the Giants since 2006, when he was an intern, and joined the big-league coaching staff when Kapler was manager, becoming the first big-league coach born and raised in Japan. His seemingly countless duties include throwing batting practice and catching bullpens.<\/p>\n

Eliezer Zambrano, bullpen catcher<\/p>\n

No change here. Zambrano will remain in the Giants\u2019 bullpen, warming up relievers before they\u2019re summoned into games.<\/p>\n

Not returning to the coaching staff<\/p>\n

Manager Bob Melvin, bench coach Ryan Christenson (now with the A\u2019s), pitching coach J.P. Martinez (Braves), hitting coaches Pat Burrell and Damon Minor, third-base coach Matt Williams, first-base coach Mark Hallberg (Twins), bullpen coach Garvin Alston.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2408],"tags":[5,6595,162,4,378,66,4343,4340,4344,4341,4342,185,1870],"class_list":{"0":"post-559272","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-giants","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-buster-posey","10":"tag-giants","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-giants","14":"tag-sanfrancisco","15":"tag-sanfranciscogiants","16":"tag-sf","17":"tag-sf-giants","18":"tag-sfgiants","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-tony-vitello"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116028218027327082","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}