Overview
- The Giants announced on Thursday that James Rowson will join manager Tony Vitello’s staff in a newly created Offensive Coordinator position to lead the club’s offensive overhaul.
- Rowson spent the past three seasons as the New York Yankees’ lead hitting coach and helped New York lead MLB in home runs in 2024–25 while earning back-to-back American League Silver Slugger Offensive Team of the Year honors.
- Assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard is expected to remain on the big-league staff and Taira Uematsu is reported to be the new first-base coach, with infield coach Ron Washington and third-base coach Gary Pettis expected to be retained.
- The hire responds to clear weaknesses in San Francisco’s offense in 2026, when the team ranked near the bottom of MLB in runs scored, on-base percentage and walks and produced a below-average weighted runs created mark.
- Rowson has said he will work across baserunning, hitting and performance groups to create an offensive identity for the team, a move that follows a wider MLB trend toward specialized, cross-department coaching roles.