San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are reportedly looking toward the Chicago Cubs front office as they search for their next general manager.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Cubs assistant general manager Scott Harris is one of the candidates for the position. Rosenthal clarified that it is "unclear" how close the National League West team is to finishing its search.

The Giants are also in the market for a new manager after Bruce Bochy retired, and Rosenthal provided an update on both searches during an appearance on MLB Network:

He made a direct comparison to the Cubs when it comes to the GM position and suggested whoever was hired would be the Jed Hoyer to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi's Theo Epstein. Hoyer and Epstein work closely together when making personnel decisions.

That is a framework Harris would surely be familiar with given his time in the Cubs front office, although Zaidi has been without a general manager since he was hired in November 2018.

Whether it is Harris or someone else, the next GM will have a monumental task ahead. The Giants were a powerhouse for extended stretches in the last decade and won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014, but they are coming off three straight losing seasons.

San Francisco's 77-85 mark in 2019 was its best record since 2016, and it is still staring at a deep division that features the formidable Los Angeles Dodgers.

Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada will interview for the San Francisco Giants' managerial vacancy in person in the Bay Area on Thursday, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

Feinsand noted Espada has previously spoken to the Giants about the job via phone.

Espada spent time with the Florida/Miami Marlins as a third-base coach from 2010 to 2013, and he later assumed the same position for the New York Yankees from 2015 to 2017.

He has been Houston's bench coach since 2018. 

Despite having no prior MLB managerial experience, the 44-year-old has garnered interest from a couple of teams. Not only are the Giants interested, but Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Espada was a candidate for the Chicago Cubs' and Pittsburgh Pirates' openings as well.

Chicago hired former catcher David Ross as its manager on Wednesday, per Heyman.

Though losing Espada would be a blow to his coaching staff, Astros skipper A.J. Hinch believes the bench coach has what it takes to manage, per Kelly Crull of NBC Sports Chicago:

"He's a well-rounded baseball man. He's been in a few places and so he's seen and done virtually everything to prepare himself to manage. From coaching in Miami to being with the Yankees on successful teams, to being a bench coach here. He's been around decision-making, he's been around high-end winning and he's intellectually curious.

"He's organized, diligent, he's very fair to people, he's a good family man. All attributes that help you build something in the clubhouse that ultimately leads to winning. The only thing untested in him is managing. And any time you talk about someone without managerial experience, I think you're just going to have to learn on the job, period. There's been plenty of examples of guys that have done it and Joe is really good. The potential could be very quick for him. A lot of teams have asked about him."

Espada missed out on one job, but he reportedly remains in the mix for at least two others. The Astros' run deep into October has complicated matters for Espada, though he has been able to find a way to use downtime to participate in interviews.

Thursday represents a travel day for the Astros as the 2019 World Series shifts from Houston to Washington, D.C. Game 3 will be played at Nationals Park on Friday at 8:07 p.m. ET.

There is reportedly a favorite in the San Francisco Giants' manager search. 

According to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (h/t Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area), "word around the industry is that [Mark] Kotsay entered this process as a favored candidate."

One of Baggarly's sources went as far as to say it would be a surprise if Kotsay, who is currently the quality control coach of the Oakland Athletics, wasn't the next hire. 

Kotsay was an MLB player from 1997 through 2013 for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers. There is a connection in place with the Giants, as president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was a baseball operations analyst with the Athletics when Kotsay was an outfielder.

Since his playing days, Kotsay has been a special assistant in the Padres' front office, Padres hitting coach and Athletics bench coach. 

That experience will come in handy in San Francisco if he is hired considering he will be expected to follow Bruce Bochy. Bochy is one of the best managers of his generation and won four National League pennants and an NL Manager of the Year during his time with the Padres and Giants.

He was in San Francisco from 2007 through 2019 and won three World Series rings.

In addition to Kotsay, Johnson listed in-house candidates Hensley Meulens and Ron Wotus, as well as Chicago Cubs first base coach Will Venable, Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, and former Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler as other names who have been connected to the Giants' managerial opening.

Former Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler is going to interview for the same position with the San Francisco Giants. 

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported the news, adding Giants president Farhan Zaidi loved Kapler during their time together with the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The Giants are looking for a manager to replace Bruce Bochy, who retired at the end of 2019 after spending the past 13 seasons with the organization. 

Kapler was fired by the Phillies on Thursday following a disappointing 81-81 record last season. Expectations for the team entering 2019 were incredibly high thanks to the additions of Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, J.T. Realmuto and David Robertson. 

Injuries and poor performances resulted in the Phillies finishing fourth in the National League East and missing the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. 

When Zaidi was hired as Dodgers general manager in November 2014, Kapler took a position with the organization as director of player development. They worked together for three seasons before Kapler was hired by the Phillies. 

Zaidi moved from the Dodgers to become president of baseball operations in San Francisco last offseason. The Giants have finished under .500 and missed the postseason in each of the past three seasons. 

Bruce Bochy wrote a letter to San Francisco Giants fans after wrapping up his farewell season as an MLB manager.

"To be honest, the depth of love this community has for the Giants probably surprised me more than anything else when I took the job," he said. "I often saw it from the opposing dugout but you can't really know it until you experience it here, up close and personal. Every day, I'd step onto the field and see all three decks filled with people in orange and black, in panda hats, giraffe hats, and fake beards. You were loud and rowdy. You were fanatical. And you were fiercely loyal."

Bochy also reflected on interactions he had with Giants fans he had away from Oracle Park:

"After 40 years in this game, I am absolutely certain there was not, and is not, a better fan base than the one I was fortunate enough to enjoy here for thirteen years. When we won the 2010 World Series, people came up to me in grocery stores and restaurants to tell me how much the championship meant to their mother or even their grandmother, how long they'd been waiting, how happy they were. To know that our team brought joy to the community also brought joy to our players and me because that's what we play for. Without you, there is no baseball, no business, no television or talk radio, and no opportunity to compete."

Bochy spent 13 seasons in charge of the Giants. His 1,052 wins are second only to John McGraw (2,583) in franchise history. He also guided San Francisco to three World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Prior to that, the team had been without a championship since moving to the Bay Area in 1958.

Bochy's impact on the Giants was evident in his farewell ceremony after the team's 9-0 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. A number of former players, including Barry Bonds and Tim Lincecum, were on hand to give him a proper send-off.

The 64-year-old announced in February he'd be stepping down, which allowed him to savor the sights and sounds of the 2019 campaign.

Prior to arriving in San Francisco, Bochy managed the San Diego Padres for 12 seasons. The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee reported Sept. 21 the Padres were considering Bochy as a candidate to replace Andy Green. He declined to comment when asked if he'd be open to a return to San Diego.

Regardless of whether he continues managing, a trip to Cooperstown, New York, almost certainly beckons for Bochy in the future.

San Francisco Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens will reportedly interview for the club's vacant manager position this week following the retirement of Bruce Bochy.

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported Meulens, who previously interviewed with the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees in recent years, will be the Giants' first candidate to meet with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

Meulens arrived in San Francisco as the team's hitting coach in 2010. He was promoted to bench coach ahead of the 2018 season after helping the team win three World Series titles in eight years.

The 52-year-old Curacao native also served as manager of the Netherlands' national baseball team in the 2013 and 2017 editions of the World Baseball Classic. The Dutch reached the semifinals in both tournaments.

In March, Zaidi told Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic he'd track Meulens, who earned the nickname Bam Bam for his power during his early playing days, throughout the 2019 season.

"I've had conversations with Bam Bam, understanding his managerial aspirations," he said. "I know he's interested in that position here. And I just said, 'You know, the best case you can make for yourself is doing the bench coach job as well as I've heard you've been doing it.' Because when you're the bench coach, you're just one seat away, one step away, from being the manager."

Meulens is "well-liked by players," in part because he speaks five languages fluently and is "well-versed in the analytics" side of the sport, per Pavlovic.

The former Yankees, Montreal Expos and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder is the oddsmakers' co-favorite to take over the Giants' managerial job with nine-time MLB All-Star Carlos Beltran, who finished the 2011 season with San Francisco, according to Michael Lerseth of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Zaidi's selection will inherit a team that's now missed the playoffs in three straight seasons after posting a 77-85 record in 2019.

With an 11-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, San Francisco Giants skipper Bruce Bochy became the 11th manager in MLB history to reach the 2,000-win plateau.

Although the Giants were the visiting team, Bochy's historic feat received some recognition at Fenway Park:

He discussed the accomplishment after the game:

Bochy now has a career record of 2,000-2,022 during the regular season over the course of his 25 years in the dugout. He went 951-975 in 12 seasons with the San Diego Padres and is 1,049-1,047 in 13 seasons with San Francisco.

He will go out as the winningest manager in Padres history and the second-winningest manager in Giants history, trailing only Hall of Famer John McGraw (2,583 wins from 1902 to 1932).

The 64-year-old announced prior to the regular season that the 2019 campaign would be his last in uniform. With just 10 games remaining in the season, Bochy will join Connie Mack and Bucky Harris as the only managers to win 2,000 games while finishing their career with a losing record, according to NBC Sports Bay Area's Dalton Johnson.

Bochy has reached the postseason eight times in his storied career, going 44-33 with three World Series titles in the process. His three championships all came during a five-year span from 2010 to 2014.

As Bochy's career in the Bay Area winds down, he appears destined for Cooperstown:

Of note, Casey Stengel ranks 12th all-time with 1,905 wins and is also in the Hall of Fame.

Bochy will now have 10 more games to put the finishing touches on his career. Barring a stunning turn of events, the Giants (74-78) will miss out on the postseason, resulting in Bochy's final game coming at Oracle Park against the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 29.

San Francisco Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery during the first week of September.

Sandoval was placed on the injured list Aug. 14 because of right elbow inflammation. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday there was a "fair" chance the veteran's 2019 season was over because of the bone chips in his elbow.

Sandoval was having his best season since he signed with the Boston Red Sox in November 2014, hitting .269/.314/.509 with 14 home runs and 41 RBI in 107 games for San Francisco.

The switch-hitting Kung Fu Panda had been especially productive against southpaws, as he hit .313/.353/.583 from the right side. He did, however, hit 11 of his 14 home runs as a left-hander.

Losing Sandoval for the remainder of the season takes away a productive bat from the Giants as they try to make a late playoff push. They are 5.5 games back in the National League Wild Card race.

Sandoval had proved versatile this season, making 45 appearances at third base, 23 appearances at first...and one on the mound.

The 33-year-old had saved his career in the Bay Area after a disappointing two-plus-year run in Boston. He recently discussed his comeback with ESPN's Marly Rivera:

"But I also put in a lot of work and made many sacrifices, and I wasn't ready to leave the game. I wanted to prove to everyone, especially my children and my family, and set the example for my children, that in spite of the things that may happen to you, you always have to fight on."

Sandoval will become a free agent following the conclusion of the season.

The 2019 MLB trade deadline came and went with Madison Bumgarner remaining on the San Francisco Giants.  

Bumgarner revealed before Wednesday night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies that he had anticipated staying with the Giants for the remainder of the season:

"“I’ve seen it before where stuff comes up last minute. So you never know, but in the end I’ve got a job to do like I said so many times. No matter what the case I’ve got a job to do and I never plan for anything that I don’t know is going to happen. So nothing changed for me.

"...I never expected to be somewhere else until that happened. Nothing has changed for me. ... I don't look at it as being past a hurdle. Like I said, I've just got a job to do, and I'm going to do it. That's it. Just worry about the things you can control."

As San Francisco struggled to a 21-33 start this season, it appeared as though the Giants were well on their way to a third consecutive season without a postseason berth. That meant the team would likely trade veterans at the deadline as it built for the future, especially those who would be free agents at season's end.

That included Bumgarner, who is playing out a five-year, $35 million contract.

However, the Giants battled back into contention by catching fire in late June. They went through a 20-game stretch in which they went 17-3, pushing themselves above .500 and into the National League Wild Card race.

San Francisco currently sits 2.5 games back of the second wild-card spot, putting the franchise in a tough spot at the deadline. While the team listened to offers on the 29-year-old pitcher, it never received a package it felt was worth pulling the trigger on.

Bumgarner has been a big part of the organization since being drafted 10th overall in 2007. He was a major factor in the Giants' three World Series championship teams earlier this decade, winning both the National League Championship Series and World Series MVP awards in 2014.

As USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale noted, the Giants wanted to do right by Bumgarner, even though he has only a limited no-trade clause:

While it's possible his San Francisco career will come to an end this upcoming offseason, Bumgarner will have at least two more months in a Giants uniform. And he plans on making the most of the stretch run. 

The left-hander is 6-7 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.153 WHIP in 23 starts this season. He's 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in four second-half starts.

Second baseman Scooter Gennett will try to rediscover his 2017 and 2018 form on a new team after the Cincinnati Reds traded him to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

Cincinnati will receive a player to be named later, per the Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay.

Moving Gennett allows the Reds to land something in return before his potential departure. He is set for unrestricted free agency in 2020 after making $9.8 million this year.

Cincinnati's loss is San Francisco's gain, as Gennett was an offensive force during much of his time on the Reds.

The second baseman was a bright spot for a last-place team in 2018. He slashed .310/.357/.490 with 23 home runs and 92 RBI while making his first All-Star team. The effort came after he slashed .295/.342/.531 with a career-best 27 home runs and 97 RBI in 2017.

His resurgence for the Reds came after he played the first four seasons of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit an impressive .324 in 69 games as a rookie in 2013 but saw his average drop to .263 by his final year at Miller Park.

He also reached double-digit home runs just once during his tenure with the Brewers.

Hitting at Great American Ball Park treated him well the past two years. However, he has dealt with injuries in 2019 and is slashing just .217/.236/.261 with zero home runs and five RBI in 21 games.

Gennett needs to find his offensive rhythm again on his new team to maintain his value seeing how he has never been an impressive defender. According to FanGraphs, he is responsible for minus-15 defensive runs saved at second base in his career.

San Francisco added Gennett for his bat, and it could be the difference between a deep playoff run and early elimination if he resembles the player he was the last two years instead of in 2019.