No matter how the rest of the season goes, the Giants’ coaching staff won’t look the same in 2024.
Brian Bannister, San Francisco’s director of pitching, is reportedly leaving for a job with the Chicago White Sox. Bannister had been with the team since 2019, when Farhan Zaidi hired him away from Boston.
Bannister is one of several White Sox hires, according to USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale, as part of a franchise overhaul after their wildly disappointing 2023 season. NBC Sports Chicago also reported the White Sox’s hiring of Bannister.
Bannister, a MLB pitcher from 2006 to 2010, rose to prominence on the coaching side as he showed an interest and expertise in analytics. He was able to blend his playing experience and understanding of metrics enough to become a valued member of the Giants coaching staff and someone some within the organization considered a pitching guru.
Under Bannister, the Giants have penned several success stories on the pitching front, including helping Kevin Gausman reach his Cy Young potential, a late-career bloom for Alex Cobb and the emergences of Logan Webb and Camilo Doval. He has worked not just with the big-league club, but with pitching prospects as well.
Last season, Bannister wasn’t with the Giants all season because he reportedly chose to not comply with Major League Baseball’s vaccine policy. The Giants held him in such high esteem that they accommodated him, allowing him to work remotely and return for 2023.
In Chicago, Bannister will reunite with Ethan Katz, who worked as the Giants’ assistant pitching coach before Chicago hired him away in 2020. Katz is currently the White Sox’s pitching coach.