Beloved former SF Giants pitcher reportedly not in the running for pitching coach

The SF Giants are filling out new manager Tony Vitello’s coaching staff. After pitching coach J.P. Martinez departed for a bullpen job with the Atlanta Braves, the Giants will need to replace him. One popular name does not seem to be in the running, though.

According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, Vogelsong does not appear to be a candidate for the pitching coach position. He writes, “While Ryan Vogelsong has been rumored as a potential replacement for Martinez, he is not in the mix, per sources.”

SF Giants not considering Ryan Vogelsong for pitching coach 

Pavlovic does not mention any other candidates for pitching coach, although he does note that Javier López, another former Giants pitcher, will be joining the front office in an advisory role so that seems to take him out of the running as well.

Perhaps Vitello will get to hire someone he has experience with in the past and someone he is comfortable with. Or maybe Posey and the front office have someone in mind they feel would be a good fit.

For Giants fans looking for a little nostalgia hit, the Vogelsong news is unfortunate. His Giants career is truly one of the most remarkable of all the Giants who left their fingerprints on the team’s dynasty in the 2010’s.

Vogelsong was drafted by San Francisco in 1998 and debuted with the Giants in 2000. He had limited showings in 2000 and 2001 and struggled in his first stint with the Giants. He ended up with the Pittsburgh Pirates for several seasons where his struggles continued.

He went overseas and pitched with the Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes of the NPB. He returned to the states in 2010 and had a few brief minor league stints with some teams before he joined the Giants on a minor league contract in 2011.

He had a remarkable renaissance in his second stint in San Francisco. Vogelsong ended up being an All-Star that season with a 13-7 record and a 2.71 ERA in 30 appearances. He followed that up with a solid 2012 and was a key part of the team’s postseason run, delivering great starts in the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series as he pitched to a 1.09 ERA in four starts.

He contributed to the team’s 2014 playoff run as well although he did not pitch as cleanly. He still turned in a solid one run- performance in 5 and 2/3 innings of work in Game 4 of the NLDS which was the clinching game of that series.

After his playing days were over, Vogelsong joined the Giants organization as a roving pitching instructor and helped some of the younger pitchers in the organization with their development like Logan Webb.

He always seemed like a natural fit for the pitching coach role, but maybe he is not interested at this time or the Giants feel someone with more experience is needed given Vitello’s lack of experience.

Either way, we will not see him in a pitching coach role next season but it would not be a surprise to see him involved in the organization in one way or another.