Jayce Tingler Poached By San Francisco Giants

[Matthew Lenz]

Whether new Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton planned to or not, he'll need to find a new bench coach for the 2026 season. 

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic is reporting that the San Francisco Giants are hiring Minnesota Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler for the same position. It has not been reported whether Tingler has been informed that he was or was not going to return for 2026. It is also not known whether he was considered for the Twins' managerial vacancy.

Before serving as the Twins' bench coach, Tingler managed the San Diego Padres for two seasons, leading them to a 116-106 record. In an article written by Megan Ryan of the Minnesota Star Tribune, he is described as "someone who, really, the key trait, what stood out the most, is who he is as a person, who he is as a leader, and how he goes about in helping players and staff and everyone around him" by Derek Falvey.

Tingler and the new Giants manager, Tony Vitello, were college teammates at the University of Missouri and are "close friends", per Baggarly. That, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding his standing with Shelton and the Twins, likely explains the lateral move.

How do you think the Twins will be impacted by his departure? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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[Tjwalsh65]

Bring back Molitor as the bench coach.  

[Blyleven2011]

Not sorry to see him go  , hope him sucess but wasn't to impressed with him as our bench coach ...

Now we need more replacements,  it will make my day when I hear Watkins has been let go ...

[Whitey333]

Yawn, yawn, yawn.  Who cares?  Probably the biggest move the Twins make this off season.  

[Riverbrian]

The team has done a 180 change of direction that started at the trade deadline. 

If you are going to do this... then do this. Jump into the water with both feet. 

If the club is going to commit to developing young players as stated by Shelton in the press conference. 

They are not just going to adjust the player personnel. They will also need to adjust the support positions. 

Tingler moving on... regardless if he left on his own or was told his future was short is an opportunity to hire somebody who is exactly qualified to help the team on it's new mission. I'm not saying if Tingler was or was not qualified for the new direction... just saying it's an opportunity to hire someone who is perfect for the direction. 

I'm going to assume that when Tingler was hired. The Twins were in a totally different place.  

 

[chpettit19]

Tingler, Rowson, Hefner, Popkins, Alston, Swanson, Day. I'm sure there's quite a few more. Twins coaches poached or immediately hired by other teams after being let go by the Twins. 

I don't think the coaches are the problem. Or at least the rest of the league doesn't think so. Shoot, Rocco was interviewing for at least 1 other manager position immediately after being fired. The Twins lack talent. It's never been the coaches, it's been the players. Or so it seems pretty obvious the league is telling us by constantly poaching or immediately hiring the Twins coaches.

[Road trip]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Tingler, Rowson, Hefner, Popkins, Alston, Swanson, Day. I'm sure there's quite a few more. Twins coaches poached or immediately hired by other teams after being let go by the Twins. 

I don't think the coaches are the problem. Or at least the rest of the league doesn't think so. Shoot, Rocco was interviewing for at least 1 other manager position immediately after being fired. The Twins lack talent. It's never been the coaches, it's been the players. Or so it seems pretty obvious the league is telling us by constantly poaching or immediately hiring the Twins coaches.

I can concede that the coaches may not be the primary problem.  But the Twins org has an unfortunate habit of giving up on players that go on to perform very well elsewhere.

Somehow, nobody in the org saw value in Ronny Henriquez last winter.  A 24yo hard throwing reliever, and the Twins just cut him to make room for....Michael Tonkin.  Henriquez was outstanding for Miami this year, far better than any year Tonkin has ever had in his long career.  That's on the coaches and/or GM.

Somehow, nobody in the org saw much value in Yenier Cano.  Similar story, not successful for the Twins in a brief trial, but very good for Baltimore in '23 and '24.

Plenty of other examples exist.  Meanwhile, the prospects that the Twins do hang onto tend to underperform expectations.  It makes one wonder how they will do if/when they get away from Minnesota.  There is either a talent identification problem, or a player development problem.  Coaches and management bear some responsibility for the results.

[chpettit19]

13 minutes ago, Road trip said:

I can concede that the coaches may not be the primary problem.  But the Twins org has an unfortunate habit of giving up on players that go on to perform very well elsewhere.

Somehow, nobody in the org saw value in Ronny Henriquez last winter.  A 24yo hard throwing reliever, and the Twins just cut him to make room for....Michael Tonkin.  Henriquez was outstanding for Miami this year, far better than any year Tonkin has ever had in his long career.  That's on the coaches and/or GM.

Somehow, nobody in the org saw much value in Yenier Cano.  Similar story, not successful for the Twins in a brief trial, but very good for Baltimore in '23 and '24.

Plenty of other examples exist.  Meanwhile, the prospects that the Twins do hang onto tend to underperform expectations.  It makes one wonder how they will do if/when they get away from Minnesota.  There is either a talent identification problem, or a player development problem.  Coaches and management bear some responsibility for the results.

The Dodgers traded Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields. The Tigers dropped Willi Castro for nothing. Harrison Bader is a former waived player that had the best offensive season of his career with the Twins this year. Carlos Santana was picked up for nothing last year and had his best offensive season of the 2020s with the Twins. There's fans who are excited about Kody Clemens and think he's a legit MLBer (I'm not one of them) after the Twins claimed him from the Phillies this year. MAT had a career year here.

You can play this game with every team. Especially with relievers. Every team has bullpen guys they rely on that were waiver claims and have waived guys that other teams pick up and turn into something. The Twins aren't alone here. You can find guys traded or waived by every team that succeed elsewhere.

I put it very much in the "talent identification problem" bucket. The Ronny decision didn't make sense to me at the time and really looks bad now. My 2 biggest complaints about the Twins are that they are way too fixated on platooning and that they are not good at giving their young guys opportunities to show what they can do before they get to a point where they need to make roster decisions on them. Every team misses on guys. All of them. Rooker went to 2 other teams before he blew up with the As. Every team misses. A lot. 

The only way we can tell if the league thinks our coaches know what they're doing is if they steal them from us or hire them after we let them go. And the league is doing that. A lot.

It's a front office problem. I never said the FO wasn't to blame, I said the coaches. 

[Riverbrian]

2 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

The Dodgers traded Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields. The Tigers dropped Willi Castro for nothing. Harrison Bader is a former waived player that had the best offensive season of his career with the Twins this year. Carlos Santana was picked up for nothing last year and had his best offensive season of the 2020s with the Twins. There's fans who are excited about Kody Clemens and think he's a legit MLBer (I'm not one of them) after the Twins claimed him from the Phillies this year. MAT had a career year here.

You can play this game with every team. Especially with relievers. Every team has bullpen guys they rely on that were waiver claims and have waived guys that other teams pick up and turn into something. The Twins aren't alone here. You can find guys traded or waived by every team that succeed elsewhere.

I put it very much in the "talent identification problem" bucket. The Ronny decision didn't make sense to me at the time and really looks bad now. My 2 biggest complaints about the Twins are that they are way too fixated on platooning and that they are not good at giving their young guys opportunities to show what they can do before they get to a point where they need to make roster decisions on them. Every team misses on guys. All of them. Rooker went to 2 other teams before he blew up with the As. Every team misses. A lot. 

The only way we can tell if the league thinks our coaches know what they're doing is if they steal them from us or hire them after we let them go. And the league is doing that. A lot.

It's a front office problem. I never said the FO wasn't to blame, I said the coaches. 

Yep...

And it's not like the other clubs are waiting in anticipation for our players to reach free agency so they can offer them millions upon millions. Nor does it seem like the other clubs are willing to offer significant talent to acquire our players. The bullpen is where we had developed value that interested clubs and they are gone now. That's why we are sitting with bullpen desert in need of water. 

They will poach our coaches but not most of our players. 

Ryan is probably the only guy left with decent enough trade value to move a needle. Jeffers? The other players like Lopez have diminished value due to salary. 

I'd say we have an identification problem. 

 

[Blyleven2011]

58 minutes ago, Road trip said:

I can concede that the coaches may not be the primary problem.  But the Twins org has an unfortunate habit of giving up on players that go on to perform very well elsewhere.

Somehow, nobody in the org saw value in Ronny Henriquez last winter.  A 24yo hard throwing reliever, and the Twins just cut him to make room for....Michael Tonkin.  Henriquez was outstanding for Miami this year, far better than any year Tonkin has ever had in his long career.  That's on the coaches and/or GM.

Somehow, nobody in the org saw much value in Yenier Cano.  Similar story, not successful for the Twins in a brief trial, but very good for Baltimore in '23 and '24.

Plenty of other examples exist.  Meanwhile, the prospects that the Twins do hang onto tend to underperform expectations.  It makes one wonder how they will do if/when they get away from Minnesota.  There is either a talent identification problem, or a player development problem.  Coaches and management bear some responsibility for the results.

Im waiting to see what larnach would do  with another organization  , he's right on the cusp of being a better than average hitter  , can some other organization with a fresh change of scenery and a  different voice help larnach at least be a 25 homer a year player  with a 250 average   ...

No idea if he can be a better defensive outfielder  , he's slow but does field better than others ....

[thelanges5]

How about Rowson as the bench coach?

[AceWrigley]

So even the benches need coaches now, eh? Don't get up, I'll just let myself out the back door. 🙃

[S Bart]

10 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Not sorry to see him go  , hope him sucess but wasn't to impressed with him as our bench coach ...

Now we need more replacements,  it will make my day when I hear Watkins has been let go ...

He knows the teams in that division due to managing there...good move

[S Bart]

7 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

The Dodgers traded Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields. The Tigers dropped Willi Castro for nothing. Harrison Bader is a former waived player that had the best offensive season of his career with the Twins this year. Carlos Santana was picked up for nothing last year and had his best offensive season of the 2020s with the Twins. There's fans who are excited about Kody Clemens and think he's a legit MLBer (I'm not one of them) after the Twins claimed him from the Phillies this year. MAT had a career year here.

You can play this game with every team. Especially with relievers. Every team has bullpen guys they rely on that were waiver claims and have waived guys that other teams pick up and turn into something. The Twins aren't alone here. You can find guys traded or waived by every team that succeed elsewhere.

I put it very much in the "talent identification problem" bucket. The Ronny decision didn't make sense to me at the time and really looks bad now. My 2 biggest complaints about the Twins are that they are way too fixated on platooning and that they are not good at giving their young guys opportunities to show what they can do before they get to a point where they need to make roster decisions on them. Every team misses on guys. All of them. Rooker went to 2 other teams before he blew up with the As. Every team misses. A lot. 

The only way we can tell if the league thinks our coaches know what they're doing is if they steal them from us or hire them after we let them go. And the league is doing that. A lot.

It's a front office problem. I never said the FO wasn't to blame, I said the coaches. 

Don't totally disagree on Clemens...but he can play several positions ..Bats from both sides of the plate...and has higher qualities including home runs than some of the other fellas on the team...and he hustles...

[chpettit19]

13 hours ago, S Bart said:

Don't totally disagree on Clemens...but he can play several positions ..Bats from both sides of the plate...and has higher qualities including home runs than some of the other fellas on the team...and he hustles...

Don't want to derail this thread about coaches into a talk about Clemens, but, FYI, Clemens is a lefty only and is completely and utterly useless against lefties.

[S Bart]

10 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Don't want to derail this thread about coaches into a talk about Clemens, but, FYI, Clemens is a lefty only and is completely and utterly useless against lefties.

Whoops...you are correct...regardless...check out the MLB stats page for the Twins and compare him to others...he is much better than most...fact is that they can get him fairly reasonable...one more year ..yes. 

[dxpavelka]

On 11/6/2025 at 9:26 AM, chpettit19 said:

Tingler, Rowson, Hefner, Popkins, Alston, Swanson, Day. I'm sure there's quite a few more. Twins coaches poached or immediately hired by other teams after being let go by the Twins. 

I don't think the coaches are the problem. Or at least the rest of the league doesn't think so. Shoot, Rocco was interviewing for at least 1 other manager position immediately after being fired. The Twins lack talent. It's never been the coaches, it's been the players. Or so it seems pretty obvious the league is telling us by constantly poaching or immediately hiring the Twins coaches.

Many teams get their coaches hired by other teams.  Every coach is looking for better opportunities, perceived or real.  

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Many teams get their coaches hired by other teams.  Every coach is looking for better opportunities, perceived or real.  

Sure, but the idea that the coaches are all incompetent fools who have been holding the Twins players back because they're not good at their jobs sure doesn't seem to be supported by the fact that many other teams want our coaches. If they were so obviously the reason the Twins struggled, why would other teams want them?

Many posters around here have been blaming the hitting coaches, pitching coaches, minor league coaches, and any other coach they could think of for the struggles of Twins players. There's posts on this very thread about Tingler not being good and being no real loss. If these stances are true, why would other teams continue to take our coaches? Why would the Giants have hired Tingler for the same job he had here if he was incompetent? Isn't the more likely answer that the Twins coaches aren't incompetent and the expectation that they can turn players into more than their physical capabilities will allow is really the problem? 

[Linus]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Sure, but the idea that the coaches are all incompetent fools who have been holding the Twins players back because they're not good at their jobs sure doesn't seem to be supported by the fact that many other teams want our coaches. If they were so obviously the reason the Twins struggled, why would other teams want them?

Many posters around here have been blaming the hitting coaches, pitching coaches, minor league coaches, and any other coach they could think of for the struggles of Twins players. There's posts on this very thread about Tingler not being good and being no real loss. If these stances are true, why would other teams continue to take our coaches? Why would the Giants have hired Tingler for the same job he had here if he was incompetent? Isn't the more likely answer that the Twins coaches aren't incompetent and the expectation that they can turn players into more than their physical capabilities will allow really the problem? 

100%. Spot on. Truth. Have the Twins been great at developing players?  Nope. But here is the biggest reason: establishing yourself as a bona fide big leaguer is really hard and more players are going to fail than succeed regardless of coaching. This phenomenon is playing out now with Kaelen Culpepper. Some people are penciling him in to be the starting SS starting next summer. I hope he turns into the next big star but he has a long way to go still. If he doesn’t make it we will see a bunch of fans wondering what went wrong and who is to blame. 

[dxpavelka]

12 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Sure, but the idea that the coaches are all incompetent fools who have been holding the Twins players back because they're not good at their jobs sure doesn't seem to be supported by the fact that many other teams want our coaches. If they were so obviously the reason the Twins struggled, why would other teams want them?

Many posters around here have been blaming the hitting coaches, pitching coaches, minor league coaches, and any other coach they could think of for the struggles of Twins players. There's posts on this very thread about Tingler not being good and being no real loss. If these stances are true, why would other teams continue to take our coaches? Why would the Giants have hired Tingler for the same job he had here if he was incompetent? Isn't the more likely answer that the Twins coaches aren't incompetent and the expectation that they can turn players into more than their physical capabilities will allow is really the problem? 

Not sure why you would think that I am saying that the coaches have been holding the Twins back.  I am merely pointing out that all teams poach other team's coaches.  It's part of the game. Nobody can say with any certainty what is needed for the Twins to be more successful.  Now don't let that get out or I am going to have to hear from dozens of folks on here who are certain that THEY can answer that question with 100% absolute certainty.  

[rv78]

I just think Tingler saw the writing on the wall.

1.A new Manager will want his own hand selected bench coach. 

2.The Twins are going in a direction that he doesn't want to be a part of. 

[chpettit19]

9 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Not sure why you would think that I am saying that the coaches have been holding the Twins back.  I am merely pointing out that all teams poach other team's coaches.  It's part of the game. Nobody can say with any certainty what is needed for the Twins to be more successful.  Now don't let that get out or I am going to have to hear from dozens of folks on here who are certain that THEY can answer that question with 100% absolute certainty.  

Oh, I didn't mean you were saying that I meant just posters in general. I don't have opinions on any of the hires or fires they make beyond generally not blaming them for the results on the field. The players they've been given are flawed players. The coaches couldn't make me into a major leaguer because I don't have the physical skills. Even major leaguers have a lack of skill in some area or another (other than Trout types).

I don't know if Shelton will be good. I don't know if LaTroy will be good. None of us do. Any opinions on them are based on pure and utter conjecture with no real way of knowing. I fully accept that every team has coaches poached or be hired after they're fired. I'm not suggesting the Twins are special in that way. Simply that it flies in the face of reason for posters so suggest the Twins staff is incompetent when they're being constantly hired by other teams. The FO and players are to blame for the Twins struggles. And the Pohlads, but we don't need to go down that road again around here.

[dxpavelka]

5 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Oh, I didn't mean you were saying that I meant just posters in general. I don't have opinions on any of the hires or fires they make beyond generally not blaming them for the results on the field. The players they've been given are flawed players. The coaches couldn't make me into a major leaguer because I don't have the physical skills. Even major leaguers have a lack of skill in some area or another (other than Trout types).

I don't know if Shelton will be good. I don't know if LaTroy will be good. None of us do. Any opinions on them are based on pure and utter conjecture with no real way of knowing. I fully accept that every team has coaches poached or be hired after they're fired. I'm not suggesting the Twins are special in that way. Simply that it flies in the face of reason for posters so suggest the Twins staff is incompetent when they're being constantly hired by other teams. The FO and players are to blame for the Twins struggles. And the Pohlads, but we don't need to go down that road again around here.

Everyone wants to blame the Pohlads.  It's easy to do.  Low hanging fruit.  Many, if most, of those folks don't remember before the Pohlads.  We like to whine about a year or two of no post-season.  Try SIXTEEN such years.  Two titles in the first seven years of owning the team.  I said the day the won the second one that I could die a happy Twins fan. I still can. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

After way too much pondering on this subject, I think the bench coach does matter relative to the manager, as much as the manager. I think Tingler was a bad fit for Baldelli because neither were in-game tacticians. If neither your bench coach or your manager are tacticians, then you will get regularly outmaneuvered by the opposing team who will have a tactician on the bench.

by my little bit of research into Shelty, it was Molitor who was the tactician and Shelty the big picture guy (though his rep as far as I can tell is more tactically capable than Baldelli). That might make a Tingler type bench coach a bad fit for Shelton.

Hopefully the next bench coach is a better complement to Shelton such as a coordinator/chess player type to make sure Shelton doesn’t paint himself into the platoon corner as Rocco did night after night.