SF Giants Ron Wotus turns down Bruce Bochy's offer to become Rangers bench coach
When former SF Giants manager Bruce Bochy became the Texas Rangers manager last week it seemed likely that several other former Giants could follow him to Texas. It turns out that he hoped longtime Giants coach (and current special assistant) Ron Wotus would be interested in joining his staff as a bench coach.
SF Giants third-base coach Ron Wotus in the dugout. (2021)
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
“I was honored that he reached out to me for his bench coach position,” Wotus said during an interview with F.P. Santangelo on KNBR earlier this week. “I’ve been with this organization my whole career. I’ve had a chance to leave a number of times, and I’ve always chosen to stay. I’m happy with my role and I’m going to stay here in San Francisco and continue to do what I’m doing.”
While Wotus will stay with the Giants, the Rangers are not done trying to poach talent from Bochy's former organization. They are reportedly very interested in trying to sign Giants ace Carlos Rodón as a free agent this offseason. There have also been murmurs that Texas native Brandon Belt could be a Rangers target as well.
Wotus, who is the longest tenured coach in SF Giants history, just reached the 2000-win milestone with the team last season. He stepped away from the big-league dugout at the end of the 2021 season in order to have more balance in his life and spend time with family, and shifted to a special assistant role in 2022.
While folks are certainly happy to hear that Wotus has enjoyed his role as special assistant and isn’t in any hurry to get back to coaching, Santangelo asked if he has fully closed the door on returning to a permanent role on a coaching staff. The 61-year-old Wotus says he is not quite at that point.
“You never know," Wotus said. "I'm just taking it a year at a time, but I wouldn’t shut all doors and say ‘no I would never go back.' At this point in time, I want to remain here in San Francisco and continue to do what I'm doing. Who knows what the future holds?”
Bruce Bochy won a lot of games next to Ron Wotus in the SF Giants dugout. While Bochy will be looking to improve his resume with the Texas Rangers next season, Wotus will be returning to the Giants as a special assistant in 2023.
