Make California Post a Preferred Source LAS VEGAS — When Buster Posey said the Giants were “pretty close” to hiring a new hitting coach, he may have been underselling just how far along in the process they were.
Less than 24 hours after Posey’s comments on Day 2 of MLB’s annual general managers meetings, reports surfaced Wednesday morning that the Giants had zeroed in on one candidate.
James Rowson, who spent the past three seasons as the Yankees’ hitting coach, will be named San Francisco’s offensive coordinator, the Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed.
FanSided’s Robert Murray was the first to report that the Giants were in talks with Rowson.
The 50-year-old replaces Hunter Mense as the highest-ranking offensive coach on manager Tony Vitello’s staff, assuming a title never held before in the Giants organization.
Mense left San Francisco after one season to become the assistant hitting coach for the Royals, closer to his home near Kansas City. His one-year stint followed Pat Burrell’s in 2024.
With Rowson taking on the title of offensive coordinator, it’s unclear if the Giants still plan to fill the role of hitting coach. Posey confirmed on Tuesday that Oscar Bernard, the assistant hitting coach last season, will be back in 2027 but didn’t specify his title.
“Certainly,” Posey said, “these coaching roles are bigger jobs than when I first started.”
Rowson has a wealth of experience that he brings to the role. Before joining the Yankees in 2024, he previously spent time as the Twins’ hitting coach, the Marlins’ bench coach and as an assistant hitting coach for the Tigers after getting his start as the Cubs’ minor-league coordinator.
While Posey wasn’t able to get into specifics about Rowson, he said that he hoped to find a hitting coach who could tailor his approach to different hitters’ styles.
“Ideally you want someone that’s going to be able to read the room, read the players, get the most out of them and help them form that identity, whatever that may be,” Posey said. “I think some of the best coaches are guys that are culture builders that have a way to rally the guys through the good and bad times.”
There were more bad times than good last season for the Giants hitters, who were tied with the Angels for the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio in the majors while scoring the fifth-fewest runs, an average of 4.13 per game.
The Yankees last season were the eighth-best run-producing team in the majors, with an average of 4.59 per game, but their offense took a step back during Aaron Judge’s absence.
Rowson’s name did come up during the league-wide media session Tuesday inside the ARIA Resort and Casino, only during New York’s scrum with Brian Cashman.
The Yankees general manager described Rowson as a “free agent.”
“He’s talking to other clubs at the same time,” Cashman said, “and we’re also engaged in the marketplace and also internally, determining what’s next and best for us.”
Just a day later, Rowson’s talks with other clubs came to fruition.
The Giants found their new hitting coach, and the Yankees will continue their search for his replacement.
