New Giants Pitcher Reveals Who Will Be Franchise’s New Bullpen Coach

The San Francisco Giants’ newest Major League signing let the media know who the team’s bullpen coach would be before the team did.

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The San Francisco Giants have made no formal announcement on its Major League coaching staff. That didn’t stop Sam Hentges from revealing a hire.

The Giants officially signed the reliever earlier this week and he met with the media on Friday during a conference call to answer question. During the conversation, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Shayna Rubin, he accidentally revealed who would be the team’s bullpen coach in 2026 — long-time Major League reliever Jesse Chavez.

He’s the latest non-official hire with MLB experience for new manager Tony Vitello’s staff, who was formerly the head coach at the University of Tennessee.

Jesse Chavez’s New Job

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Chavez, like other coaching hires, is no stranger to the Bay Area. He pitched for the Athletics in Oakland for four seasons. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 42nd round in 2002 out of Riverside City College in Riverside, Calif. He made his Major League debut in 2008 and played for nine teams across 18 seasons, cultivating a reputation as a durable reliever who could close or set-up a closer.

He just wrapped up his last season, retiring after pitching four games for the Atlanta Braves. He ended his career as the most-traded player in baseball history, as he was included in 13 different deals. He won a World Series with Atlanta in 2021.

He played for the Braves, the Rangers, the Athletics, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Los Angeles Angels, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Chicago Cubs, the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished his career with a record of 51-66 with a 4.27 ERA in 657 games, with 85 starts. He struck out 1,044 hitters and walked 363 across 1,142 innings. His baseball-reference page shows he wore nine different numbers.

Chavez was one of the game’s most respected relievers for his reliability. Now he’ll work alongside Vitello’s new-look coaching staff, which is steeped with MLB experience.  

Per Joh Shea of the San Francisco Standard on X (formerly Twitter), the rest of the reported coaching staff includes bench coach Jayce Tingler, infield coach Ron Washington, hitting coaches Hunter Mense and Oscar Bernard, pitching coaches Justin Meccage, Frank Anderson and Christian Wonders, along with catching coach Alex Burg and quality control coach Taira Uematsu.

Both Tingler and Washington have been MLB managers. In addition, the Giants hired back Bruce Bochy as a special advisor and still have Dusty Baker on staff in the same capacity.