San Francisco Giants Hire Jesse Chavez as New Bullpen Coach

The San Francisco Giants are quietly reshaping the backbone of their organization. They’re blending fresh on-field experience with deep analytical acumen.

With Jesse Chavez hired as bullpen coach and Javier López and Curt Casali joining the front office, the Giants are showing their hand. They want to marry modern data-driven thinking with the instincts of veterans who’ve actually been in the trenches.

Jesse Chavez Takes Over as Giants Bullpen Coach

The bullpen has been a stress point for San Francisco. Trades and injuries really thinned out the relief corps during the 2025 season.

Bringing in Jesse Chavez is a stabilizing move. It says a lot about the pitching culture the Giants want to build.

A Long-Relief Veteran With Modern Clubhouse Cred

Chavez, now 42, steps into the role left by Garvin Alston. He just wrapped up an 18-season MLB career earlier this year.

The Braves waived him in July, but he still managed to pitch in four big league games in 2025. That’s about as recent as it gets.

He’s known best as a durable long reliever. Chavez racked up:

• 657 MLB appearances across nine teams
• A career 4.27 ERA in all kinds of roles
• Four seasons with the Oakland Athletics, so he knows the Bay Area vibe

That resume matters. A bullpen coach has to turn game-planning and mechanics into real adjustments, right in the heat of the moment.

Chavez has lived that life for nearly two decades. He’s worked middle innings, eaten up bulk frames, and adapted to whatever role the team needed.

Why Chavez Fits the Giants’ Bullpen Needs

The Giants’ relief group has taken plenty of hits from roster churn and injury attrition. The club is still searching for some stability and identity.

Chavez brings a few things to the table:

• Versatility insight: He’s done long relief, spot starts, and high-leverage spots, so he’s seen it all.
• Instant credibility: Current pitchers have watched him compete, and that peer-level respect can really speed up buy-in.
• Adaptability: Nine organizations later, he understands how different systems work and talk to players.

In a world where pitch design and data are everywhere, having a recently retired pitcher who can bridge analytics and feel is huge for San Francisco’s evolving staff.

Giants Add Javier López and Curt Casali to the Front Office

While Chavez heads to the dugout, the Giants are tapping into their own history to strengthen the executive side. The hires of Javier López and Curt Casali as advisors show they value voices who know the organization’s culture from the inside.

Javier López: A Championship Voice Returns

López isn’t just a familiar name. He’s embedded in the franchise’s modern story.

He was a key lefty reliever on three World Series-winning Giants teams. After retiring in 2017, he jumped into broadcasting as a color analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area.

Now, López returns as a front office advisor. He brings:

• Championship experience in tough relief roles
• Strong communication skills honed on TV
• A deep sense of what a winning clubhouse feels like in San Francisco

Curt Casali: A Catcher’s Insight in the Boardroom

Casali’s path is a bit more winding, which honestly makes him valuable in today’s game. The veteran catcher played parts of 11 MLB seasons, including time with the Giants, before a short stint with the Braves in 2025.

Even while still active, Casali tried out the executive world, working in the Cincinnati Reds’ front office earlier in his career. As an advisor in San Francisco, he offers:

• Catcher-level game reading: Strategy, pitcher usage, and hitter tendencies from behind the plate
• Translatable front office experience that helps him get how decisions are made upstairs
• A bridge between analytics, coaching, and players, especially on game-planning

In a club leaning hard into data, Casali’s background makes him a natural connector between departments.

Paul Bien Elevated to Assistant GM in an Analytics-Driven Era

The most quietly impactful move might be the promotion of Paul Bien, the club’s vice president of analytics, to assistant general manager. He’ll now serve alongside Jeremy Shelley, both reporting to president Buster Posey and GM Zack Minasian.

A Data Architect with Deep Giants Roots

Bien, a UCLA grad, has been with the organization since 2012. Over that time, he’s helped build out the Giants’ infrastructure in:

• Data and technology implementation
• Scouting and player development integration with analytics
• Performance modeling and decision-support systems

This promotion puts analytics right at the decision-making table. It’s clear that every move—from bullpen construction to roster balancing—will draw on data-informed evaluation.

What These Moves Mean for the Giants’ Future

Stack these moves together and you start to see a philosophy take shape. The Giants seem determined to build a brain trust where experience, communication, and analytics intersect.

Chavez, López, and Casali bring the reality of the modern clubhouse. Bien adds the analytical backbone to help guide the long-term strategy.

For a team wrestling with bullpen issues, this blend of perspectives feels like a roadmap. San Francisco isn’t just tweaking roles; they’re reshaping how decisions get made—everywhere from the front office to the bullpen mound.

 
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