SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants just finished a successful run with a manager who had San Diego Padres ties. Could they go down that path again?
Mark Kotsay has emerged as one of the candidates for Bruce Bochy's old job, league sources told NBC Sports Bay Area. Per a source, Kotsay is expected to interview this week with Farhan Zaidi, who has a connection to Kotsay from his playing days. The longtime big league outfielder currently serves as quality control coach for the A's.
Kotsay, 43, played 17 years in the big leagues, including four with the A's. He already was in Oakland when Zaidi started as a baseball operations analyst in their front office.
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Kotsay retired after the 2013 season and was a special assistant in the Padres' front office the following year. He was made the hitting coach in San Diego the year after that and then joined the A's as bench coach.
With his playing experience and time on a big league coaching staff, Kotsay checks off a lot of the boxes Zaidi and the Giants are looking at. Zaidi has said he will talk to six to eight external candidates.
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He already has interviewed Hensley Meulens and Ron Wotus, who were longtime members of Bochy's staff.