Will Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler join new SF Giants manager Tony Vitello's coaching staff?
San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey shocked the baseball world by hiring Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello to replace Bob Melvin as the Giants' manager, making Vitello the first person in history to make the jump from college coach to MLB manager with no previous experience. Vitello needs a coaching staff for 2026, and The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly wrote that Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler could be a candidate to become San Francisco's bench coach.
On Saturday, @extrabaggs wrote that Jayce Tingler could be a candidate to take over as the #SFGiants' bench coach when Tony Vitello got hired as manager. They played together at Missou. Vitello is in. #MNTwins https://t.co/icWrjpfpip
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) October 22, 2025
There's a good chance that Tingler won't return to the Twins' coaching staff next season, as the team's new manager might want someone else as their bench coach. If Tingler doesn't stay with Minnesota, then he could become his old college teammate's bench coach for the Giants next season. Vitello can be successful as an MLB manager, but given his lack of professional coaching and managing experience, having Tingler's experience on his staff could be a good way to ease him into the job, especially since they already know each other.
The Twins hired Tingler as their bench coach in the 2021-22 offseason. Before that, Tingler spent two seasons (2020-21) as the San Diego Padres' manager. In his first season leading the Padres, Tingler brought San Diego to the postseason for the first time since 2006. The following season was a different story for Tingler, as the Padres missed the playoffs with a 79-83 record, leading to Tingler's dismissal.
Before Tingler managed the Padres, he worked for the Texas Rangers organization from 2007-19. His first job with Texas was the DSL Rangers' hitting coach. Then, he managed the DSL Rangers 1 and 2 and AZL Rangers before serving as a coordinator of instruction for rookie-level operations. He then became the Rangers' minor league field coordinator, a position he held until being promoted to major league field coordinator. He then worked as an Assistant General Manager for Player Development for the Rangers. Lastly, he served as the Major League Player Development Field Coordinator for Texas before taking the Padres job.