Baseball's offseason coaching carousel is in full swing, with plenty of names on the move. The Philadelphia Phillies are still searching for their new bench coach, so for now we'll turn our attention to the West Coast and former Phillie Pat Burrell's reported job insecurity with the San Francisco Giants.
According to reports, Burrell, who has been the Giants' hitting coach since 2023, is on his way out from that role. Before Phillies fans get excited at the thought that maybe there's a spot for the fan favorite in Philadelphia, it sounds like he's staying put in the Bay Area.
Former Phillie Pat Burrell likely out as Giants hitting coach but will remain in San Francisco
While Burrell is "unlikely to be part of the major league staff," he is expected to remain with the club in a different position (subscription required), per Shayna Rubin and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Rubin and Slusser note that Burrell is close with president of baseball operations Buster Posey. The two were teammates on the Giants' 2010 World Series championship team.
The expected move to relieve Burrell of his duties in the dugout comes amid a full coaching staff shakeup after manager Bob Melvin was let go at the end of the season. Former Tennessee manager Tony Vitello is taking over as the Giants' bench boss and he'll have a very different-looking staff around him.
Burrell led a sluggish Giants' offense to a 97 wRC+, which ranked 17th in the majors. The team's .235 batting average ranked 25th, their .311 on-base percentage ranked 20th and their .386 slugging percentage ranked 25th. They finished 17th with 705 runs and 19th with 173 home runs.
Phillies fans remember "Pat the Bat" from his nine seasons playing the outfield in red pinstripes. The 1998 first-round draft pick began his Phillies career with a strong rookie season that saw him finish fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. His time in Philly culminated as part of the 2008 World Series team.
After the Phillies opted not to re-sign Burrell, he spent time with the Tampa Bay Rays before landing in San Francisco in 2010. He retired as a Phillie in 2012 after signing a one-day contract and was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2015.
Despite his deep ties to the Phillies, he remained with the Giants organization to begin his post-playing career. He started out as a special assignment scout before transitioning to hitting coach for the Single-A San Jose Giants in the California League in 2020.