After reassigning pitching coach Dave Righetti, bullpen coach Mark Gardner and assistant hitting coach Steve Decker over the weekend, the San Francisco Giants reportedly continued their coaching staff shakeup on Wednesday. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Giants have fired third-base coach Phil Nevin after just one season, and have reassigned Hensley Meulens and Ron Wotus, with Meulens shifting from hitting coach to bench coach and Wotus moving from bench coach to the third base coach’s role to replace Nevin.
Most interestingly, however, is Nightengale’s report that the Giants are grooming Meulens to take over for manager Bruce Bochy, a season after Meulens managed the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic and received positive reviews for his work.
Certainly, Bam Bam Meulens now is being groomed to become the next #SFGiants manager when Bruce Bochy steps down in a couple of years.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 25, 2017
Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper was asked to give his take on Meulens as Bochy’s eventual replacement when he joined Murph & Mac Wednesday morning.
“I think he’s absolutely ready to manage,” Kuiper said. “I mean he did such a great job in the World Baseball Classic with the Netherlands, and he’s been fabulous. The thing about Bam Bam Meulens when you see him every day, his personality is the same every day. I don’t care if the Giants haven’t had a hit in a week, or I don’t care if they’ve had 150 hits in a week, he’s the same every day. In a lot of ways, that’s probably in your top five things in what you’d want in a manager. So if that’s the plan, then I think it’s pretty cool.”
Kuiper also said he believes Wotus will be an upgrade over Nevin at third base.
“Other than Tim Flannery, Ron Wotus was the best third base coach we saw in the last 25 years,” Kuiper said. “He’s fabulous at coaching third. So to me, and I have nothing against Phil Nevin, if he takes over coaching third, he’s one of the best third-base coaches in baseball, so I look at it as an upgrade. Does he look at it as an upgrade? I don’t know, you’d have to ask him, but this is a good thing for the Giants as far as navigating that spot on the field which just happens to be the most important spot on the field if you’re a coach.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Kuip’s comments on Bam Bam and Wotus, skip to 10:30.
