SF Giants catcher Patrick Bailey reveals hidden value of underrated coaching hire

The most high-profile coaching hire the SF Giants made in the offseason was obviously to bring in Tony Vitello as the new manager straight from the college ranks. However, he may not end up being the most impactful hire for the team even though the expectation is that he will change the vibes and energy in the clubhouse.

Giants catcher Patrick Bailey made some comments recently that reveal hitting coach Hunter Mense may wind up being the best hire of the offseason.

Best SF Giants offseason coaching hire may be Hunter Mense

A recent Andrew Baggarly article in The Athletic explored the rise of pitches being called from the dugout rather than being called by the catcher. Baggarly talked to Bailey about this development and he commented on something tangentially related:

"But at the end of the day, I definitely value getting a feel for what the other team’s trying to do and go from there. The biggest example is looking back when we played the Blue Jays last year, and thank God we have their hitting coach now. After the game, you’re thinking, ‘Man, they had to have something.’ And it turns out it’s just a really good game plan."

That's high praise from Bailey and does make one recall the Giants getting smoked by the Toronto Blue Jays right out of the gates to start the second half of the season last year. There was hope that the All-Star break could serve as a reset after the Giants limped into the break, but they came back and swiftly got punched in the mouth by the Blue Jays, losing all three games in Toronto as they were outscored 18-9 in the series.

Obviously the Blue Jays had a stacked lineup last season, but their approach certainly helped which is why it could be a big deal if Mense is able to bring over whatever methods he learned in Toronto and apply them to San Francisco's lineup.

On paper, the Giants should have a pretty strong lineup in 2026. If they have guys like Jung Hoo Lee and Luis Arraez at the top of the order with their strong contact skills and some thump in the middle with Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Heliot Ramos, four guys who could hit 20 or more home runs potentially, and round it out with a guy like Harrison Bader and potentially even Bryce Eldridge at some point, it is easy to get excited about that group.

Given the state of the pitching staff, it may not even be a stretch to say that the offense could carry the Giants this season which would be odd since president of baseball operations Buster Posey has emphasized pitching and defense as the team's strengths in the past.

The main problem with the lineup last year was that while the team could get hot and catch fire at the plate, when the team got cold it was almost unbearable to watch.

Maybe adding a guy like Mense can help the team prevent some of those brutal cold stretches at the plate. If he can do that, then he may end up being the most impactful hire of anyone on the coaching staff.