The Giants are selling J.P. Martinez to the position of pitching coach, as reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The information comes on the heels of the membership’s earlier pitching coach, Bryan Worth, stepping down from his position with the membership earlier in the present day.
Martinez joined the Giants in the course of the 2020-21 offseason as assistant pitching coach, changing Erik Katz on the employees of then-manager Gabe Kapler. Previous to becoming a member of San Francisco, Martinez obtained his begin in skilled baseball when he was drafted within the ninth spherical of the 2004 draft by the Twins. Although he by no means cracked the main leagues, he spent 4 seasons pitching within the Twins group and a fifth with the Orioles group earlier than retiring from his enjoying profession in 2008. Martinez finally returned to the Twins group in 2015 as a pitching coach on the membership’s Florida complicated and spent six seasons with the membership in varied teaching roles via the minor leagues earlier than departing for San Francisco.
Upon becoming a member of the Giants, Martinez labored beneath former pitching coach Andrew Bailey and former director of pitching Brian Bannister. Of that trio, solely Martinez remained with the group in 2024 following Kapler’s firing and the hiring of Bob Melvin as supervisor. Melvin introduced in Worth to behave because the membership’s major pitching coach, however with Worth now set to step down the Giants seem poised to advertise Martinez in his place. The transfer provides some continuity to Giants hurlers after a season the place the membership’s pitching employees posted sturdy underlying metrics regardless of middling efficiency. Whereas the membership’s collective 4.10 ERA wasn’t particularly spectacular, Giants pitcher posted a 3.80 FIP and a 3.82 SIERA, each of which have been top-seven figures within the majors this yr.
Taking a look at particular person performances, the Giants loved stable performances from younger pitchers akin to Hayden Birdsong, Tristan Beck, Kyle Harrison, and Landen Roupp this yr. Every of these pitchers figures to be requested to shoulder extra important workloads in 2025 due to the upcoming departure of Blake Snell. The lack of Snell, who dominated with a 1.23 ERA and 1.77 FIP in his last 14 begins with San Francisco, will go away the Giants extra reliant on veterans Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks headed into 2025 regardless of questions concerning the sturdiness of these hurlers in rotation roles.
After all, it’s definitely doable that the Giants pursue pitching assist to additional bolster Martinez’s employees this winter, whether or not that comes within the type of a reunion with Snell or a the acquisition of a lower-profile arm or two to assist complement the employees in his absence like Luis Severino or Andrew Heaney. For now, nevertheless, the membership’s high precedence seems to be finishing their GM search and locking down a #2 within the entrance workplace to function a associate for newly-minted president of baseball operations Buster Posey.
