Pair of former SF Giants coaches find new homes for 2024

The SF Giants rounded out the new coaching staff earlier this month. A couple of notable omissions among the holdovers from the staff included first base coach Antoan Richardson and pitching coach Andrew Bailey. Both have found new homes for next season.

Richardson will serve as the first base coach for the New York Mets, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.Com. On the other hand, Jon Morosi of the MLB Network confirms that Bailey has been hired to be the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox.

Pair of former SF Giants coaches find new homes for 2024

It had been speculated earlier in the offseason that Bailey could join the Red Sox in some capacity given his ties to top front office executive Craig Breslow. Plus, working for the Red Sox gives Bailey a chance to work a little closer to his home on the East Coast.

Prior to joining the Red Sox, Bailey had been a candidate for the bench coach vacancy on Aaron Boone's staff with the New York Yankees. However, that role went to Brad Ausmus. Once that was confirmed, it seemed likely that Bailey would join Boston.

The Giants will be challenged with losing two well-regarded pitching voices this offseason. Of course, Bailey joined the Red Sox after four seasons with the Giants, but Brian Bannister also moved to a role with the Chicago White Sox. The Giants have had a lot of success with developing pitching over these past few years and these two coaches played a key role in that.

Antoan Richardson will be joining the Mets in a lateral move. He was hired by the Giants when Gabe Kapler took over as manager after the 2019 season. Of course, Richardson was familiar with the Giants as he had been a 35th-round pick by the club in 2004 out of Vanderbilt University.

He appeared in 12 minor league seasons before hanging up his cleats for good after the 2016 season. The 40-year-old briefly appeared in parts of two seasons in the majors as well. He might very well be the answer to a Jeopardy question if it has not been asked previously as he scored the winning run on a walk-of hit from Derek Jeter in Jeter's final game at Yankee Stadium before retiring.

During his time as a pro, Richardson had been an excellent base-stealer, swiping 331 bags in 389 opportunities. Being able to tally an 85 percent success rate requires speed and the ability to read pitchers well. He knows that better than most and will impart his wisdom as part of the Mets' staff.