SF Giants bring back veteran outfielder for critical front office role

The SF Giants announced a new addition to their front office on Thursday. Veteran outfielder Randy Winn has been hired as the team's new Vice President of Player Development, per a team announcement.

SF Giants bring back veteran outfielder for critical front office role

This role was last held by David Bell for one season in 2018 before he became the manager for the Cincinnati Reds. Of course, they have had personnel in high-level player development roles since then but that was the last time that this specific title was held.

Kyle Haines has served as the senior director of player development and farm director for the past several years. Along with Haines, former Giants general manager Pete Putila spent much of his two-year stint in a player development capacity and oversaw this function.

Winn got his career started in 1998 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That is what they were called back then, kids! He appeared in 13 major league seasons, including parts of five years with the Giants, before his career came to an end after the 2010 season.

The veteran outfielder was originally acquired by San Francisco in a trade that sent Jesse Foppert and Yorvit Torrealba to the Seattle Mariners. In an odd bit of transactional history, he joined the Mariners as part of the compensation for allowing Lou Pinella to interview for Tampa Bay's managerial gig. Teams may still offer some type of compensation for allowing a person under contract to interview with a new team but it is never an established player like Winn was at the time.

Since Winn's career came to an end, he has remained closely tied to the Giants organization. For years, he has served on the pre-and-post game shows while doing play-by-play commentary on the radio broadcasts as well. This is just a minor segue, but his offers good, nuanced baseball commentary when he is on the call.

In addition to this, the 50-year-old has worked as an instructor and pro scout for the organization. He did work under now Giants general manager Zack Minasian while serving as a scout, so there is a natural connection between the two.

For a team that has struggled in player development over the past 10 or so years, this is quite a risky hire. The Giants need someone strong in this role. Winn could very well end up being the perfect match, but there is plenty of inherent risk as well.

Interestingly, Winn's hire continues a trend of rearranging internal personnel into positions of leadership. Winn was not exactly an internal hire in the same way that Minasian was, but he has worked closely with the club since his career ended. Rather than look for outside help, the Giants have decided to rework the front office with familiar faces.

Perhaps, the Giants feel that they have the right voices all along but just not in the positions they needed to be. That said, a new voice or two would be welcomed additions as well.