ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s assumed that Tony Vitello was the primary reason for Jayce Tingler’s hiring as the San Francisco Giants’ bench coach. For the most part, it’s true: The two are best friends, and Tingler’s big league managerial experience is a needed complement to Vitello’s greenness.
During what’s become a long hiring process for the coaching staff, one part of Tingler’s resume, though, stood out to president of baseball operations Buster Posey and general manager Zack Minasian.
Tingler presented himself as “being passionate about baserunning, about playing the outfield,” said Minasian. That was music to the Giants executives’ ears.
While Posey and Minasian have been vocal that the Giants’ priority is to add starting pitching this offseason – a prerogative that didn’t make much tangible progress during the Winter Meetings, with no signings or trades – internally, they’ve made it a goal to get better on the bases in 2026.
“Let’s just say that at the end of ’26, we hope we’ve gained more runs on the bases than we did in ’25,” Minasian said. “I think that can get better. I think it has to get better for us to go where we want to go.”
That doesn’t mean they’re acquiring a congregation of speed demons, or advocating reckless base stealing. Getting better on the bases means getting better jumps to get from first to third, or first to home, and, yes, stealing a few more bases.
Tingler, along with new first base coach Shane Robinson, were brought on to improve those numbers. Robinson, a former outfielder, has been a baserunning and outfield coordinator in the Giants organization for several years and will be part of the big league team for his expertise.
“We 100% want the coaching staff to set a tone of being selectively aggressive on the bases,” Posey said at the Winter Meetings. “Sometimes it isn’t even just stolen bases, it’s first to third or first to home on a double. It’s being aggressive reading balls in the dirt. You don’t want to be careless about it, either. When it comes to being aggressive and making smart decisions, we’re in good hands with Jayce Tingler and Shane Robinson. It’s something we’ve talked about and they’re aware of, and hopefully we can get more out of our baserunning.”
Aggressiveness on the bases was supposed to be a priority in 2025 – at least, that’s what Posey said before his first season at the helm – but the Giants wound up among baseball’s least effective on the paths.
Not only were the Giants last in the National League in stolen bases in 2025 with 68, and above only the Detroit Tigers (61) in the majors, their minus-5 runs created on the basepaths was third worst in baseball, just ahead of the bottom-feeding Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. A breakdown of those numbers determined they weren’t taking extra bases (minus-3 runs created on non-steal plays). They rarely tried to take an extra base, and when they did were thrown out more than any other team.
Last year, the explanation for such poor baserunning numbers was mostly attributed to the personnel. The Giants just didn’t have the players to make a difference with their legs and running instinct.
Jung Hoo Lee was their best, with three runs created for his ability to take an extra base; he had 10 stolen bases and 12 triples. Matt Chapman was second best at extending plays, but little was happening outside the pair. Willy Adames stole 21 bases in 2024 with Milwaukee and 12 in his first year with the Giants, an indication of how much an environment can impact a player’s apparent superpowers.
Posey and Minasian believe that instinct can be taught and aided. Around the league, there’s plenty of proof that even the most unexpected players can be basepath demons. New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto has one of the slowest sprint speeds in baseball, but stole 38 bases – a career high by 26 – with former Giants first-base coach Antoan Richardson’s guidance. The Giants considered bringing Richardson aboard this year, but he took a job with the Atlanta Braves. Seattle’s Josh Naylor, in the bottom 3 percentile sprint speed, stole a career high 30 bases in 2025.
“As far as having the personnel, I do think we have the personnel to do it,” Posey said. “When I look at Jung Hoo, (Heliot) Ramos, Chapman, Adames, even players beyond that, (Drew) Gilbert, (Grant) McCray, (Casey Schmitt) isn’t slow, (Christian) Koss can run.”
Will the priority on baserunning factor into the Giants’ free agent and trade pursuits? Perhaps. The Giants have been steadfastly pursuing pitching first, which means their ideal for more chaos on the dirt takes a back seat. Positionally, they do need another outfielder not only to add a bat, but improve the defense. A quick-twitch athlete on the bases could be a bonus.
“It’s in our best interest to add players who are as well rounded as possible. It doesn’t always work that way,” Minasian said. “As we look, certainly, well-rounded players give you more chances to win. We continue to focus on that and make it a priority. It’s tough to handicap if you can get those guys because it takes two parties to agree.”
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