Bruce Bochy was a driving voice behind the latest SF Giants signing

The SF Giants have seemingly rounded with the addition of Tyler Mahle, but who was the driving force behind it? According to John Shea of The San Francisco Standard, Mahle came highly recommended by Bruce Bochy.

Bruce Bochy was a driving voice behind the latest SF Giants signing

Bochy managed the Texas Rangers for the past three seasons. This includes their championship run in 2023. 

Mahle underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2023. He was still recovering from the procedure when he signed a two-year deal with Texas after that season.

That type of contract is not uncommon for pitchers recovering from injury. It gives them one rehab year, and one season back at full strength.

Mahle only made 19 appearances for the Rangers, including 16 starts in 2025. When healthy, he was quite effective, pitching to a 2.54 ERA over the past two seasons.

However, health has been a question mark through Mahle’s career. He has not appeared in more than 20 games in a season since 2022, and has thrown over 150 innings just once in his nine-year career.

If Mahle gives the Giants over 120 innings in 2026, then he will likely have exceeded their volume expectations. That said, injuries happen and the Giants will need to rely on their young pitching depth to fill in the gaps. 

Despite the limited action, Bruce Bochy liked what he saw from Mahle while he managed him for the past two seasons. At the end of the 2025 season, Bochy and the Rangers agreed to mutually part ways. He was replaced by Skip Schumaker, who had been working in the front office for Texas.

There was a brief moment in the offseason where Bochy was a free agent and the Giants had an opening at manager. It looked like the stars were aligning, but Buster Posey quickly threw cold water on the idea of bringing Bochy back into the dugout on a full-time basis. However, he did bring him in as a special advisor.

Bochy, along with Dusty Baker, will bring plenty of experience to help Tony Vitello through his first season as manager. In the meantime, Bochy has quickly turned into a key voice in the Giants' front office in his new role. That led to one addition with Mahle, but it likely will not be the last.