SF Giants Close To Hiring New Assistant Pitching Coach

The SF Giants are “close to hiring” Minnesota Twins assistant pitching coordinator J.P. Martinez as the team’s assistant pitching coach, per a report.

In a report by Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the SF Giants are close to replacing departed assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz with Minnesota Twins minor-league assistant pitching coordinator J.P. Martinez. Katz was hired by the Chicago White Sox to serve as the team’s pitching coach on Tony La Russa’s staff.

Martinez has served as the team’s assistant pitching coordinator since 2018 and oversaw the Twins’ pitching operations at the organization’s Alternate Site during the 2020 season. Prior to that, he worked as a pitching coach with the Twins Low-A affiliate, the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Now he will be Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey‘s top assistant.

Drafted by the Twins in the 9th round of the 2004 MLB draft out of the University of New Orleans, Martinez pitched in Minnesota’s organization through 2007, before playing his final minor-league season with the Baltimore Orioles High-A affiliate in 2008. Martinez reached Triple-A for a 2 game stint, but otherwise spent the majority of his career in the lower minor leagues.

With the vast majority of his playing and coaching experience coming in the minor-leagues, the 38-year old Martinez follows Giants manager Gabe Kapler’s trend of targeting younger coaches with a focus on player development for his coaching staff.

In another interesting note, Martinez likely has experience with Giants pitching prospects Prelander Berroa and Kai-Wei Teng, who the organization acquired from the Twins at the 2019 trade deadline.

The SF Giants were clearly disappointed to lose assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz to the Chicago White Sox. However, the organization appears poised to hire another young coach with a strong track record in player development. Assuming Morosi’s report comes to fruition, J.P. Martinez will be the team’s assistant pitching coach next season.