Overview
- Multiple outlets reported Wednesday that James Rowson is in talks to join the San Francisco Giants as their major-league offensive coordinator or hitting coach and is expected to be hired.
- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman confirmed Rowson’s contract expired and described him as a free agent while saying the club is evaluating internal and external options for the hitting coach job.
- Rowson’s expected exit follows two other recent losses from Aaron Boone’s staff—bench coach Brad Ausmus and catching director Tanner Swanson—leaving New York with several key vacancies to fill.
- Under Rowson the Yankees ranked first in team wRC+ in 2024 and 2025 but dropped to 14th in 2026, a slide that coverage links to long stretches without Aaron Judge and uneven production from other hitters.
- Teams can still hire coaches during a potential Dec. 1 lockout but those coaches cannot have work-related contact with 40-man roster players, which will limit winter instruction and make timely integration of new staff difficult for the Yankees.