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Note: Today’s BP will run through the weekend. Apologies for not having a separate weekend BP, but I’m A) in Mexico today, and B) got slammed by the Warriors making five bajillion moves yesterday that precluded me from doing too much advance scheduling on the baseball side.
A few familiar San Francisco Giants faces are stepping into new roles in baseball starting in 2020.
Most notable is beloved manager Bruce Bochy, who led the team for the last 13 seasons, which included a trio of World Series wins. Amid rumors that he might be willing to return to managing next season, Bochy is staying with the Giants in the ever-vague “special adviser” role.
Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that Bochy has been involved with the Giants all offseason, including at the winter meetings, in hirings, and in meetings this week. Pavlovic also notes that Bochy will be around for at least some of spring training.
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi confirmed Thursday that Bochy will be with the Giants for at least part of spring training, which begins Tuesday in Scottsdale.
The Giants had not previously announced Bochy’s role, but he never stopped working for them. Bochy was involved with the interview process to choose his successor and was at the Winter Meetings, which were held in his hometown of San Diego. He has been up in San Francisco for chunks of the offseason and was at the ballpark Thursday, meeting with Alyssa Nakken among others.
Only time will tell if Bochy opts for another managerial job, but for now it’s clear that his heart remains with the Giants. And while “special adviser” is a vague job title that often doesn’t really mean anything, it certainly seems as though Bochy wants to be involved, and the Giants value his input.
Elsewhere, former Giants position players Gregor Blanco and Nick Hundley have officially retired, and are joining the commissioner’s office as senior directors of baseball operations.
Congrats to Gregor Blanco and Nick Hundley on their successful and accomplished playing careers, as well as the start of their new endeavors within baseball. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/XLVtVhyNWU
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) February 6, 2020
That’s a pretty cool opportunity for two pretty cool people, and it’s safe to say MLB got that one right.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone.