Nick

Hundley

Hundley had been considered a favorite to land the Giants’ managerial job. Him pulling his name from consideration is likely the reason that the Giants moved on to other candidates — where they are now aggressively pursuing Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello. Expect Hundley to continue in his role as a special assistant to Rangers’ general manager Chris Young.

Heyman notes that Hundley spent a couple seasons as current Giants front office architect Buster Posey’s backup. The 42-year-old former catcher retired in 2020 after a 12-year career and has spent the last four seasons as a special assistant to Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young.

Hundley retired in 2020 after a 12-year career in the majors. He joined MLB’s operations department following his retirement, which is where Chris Young worked before accepting the Rangers’ general manager job. Of course, Young also knows Hundley well from their time together with the Padres as players, so there’s a familiarity here.

Hundley, who is not on social media, released a statement through Corey Brock of The Athletic. “I am incredibly thankful for all the lessons, opportunities, successes and failures the game of baseball has given me,” said Hundley, who recently took a job with MLB as a senior director of baseball operations. “I cannot possibly thank enough the tremendous organizations in San Diego, Baltimore, Colorado, San Francisco and Oakland.” The 36-year-old lasted 12 seasons at baseball’s top level, hitting a pedestrian .247 with 93 homers over 3,097 lifetime at-bats.

Hundley had expressed a desire earlier this winter to continue playing, but it would appear that there weren’t any attractive offers out there. Or maybe he just views this as a better gig. The 36-year-old catcher finishes his 12-year MLB career with 766 hits, 93 home runs, and 376 RBI. He suited up for the Padres, Rockies, Giants, Orioles, and Athletics before spending some time last season as minor league depth for the Phillies.

Hundley caught on with the Phillies after being released by the A’s earlier this month but lasted only a couple weeks. It’s not clear whether he might have a deal in place with another club.

He figures to serve as their third catcher in September, although it’s possible the Phils view him as an upgrade over current backup Andrew Knapp. Hundley was released by the A’s last month after batting .200/.233/.357 with two homers over 31 games.

With only the struggling Andrew Knapp behind star catcher J.T. Realmuto, Hundley makes a lot of sense as a depth addition for the Phillies. The 35-year-old hit .200/.233/.357 with a pair of homers and five RBI in 70 at-bats with the Athletics before being designated for assignment.

Hundley cleared waivers after being designated for assignment and is now officially a free agent. He should be able to find another job quickly but might have to go to the minors.

Hundley is recovered from the back and knee issues that have kept him out of action since June, but the A’s will continue to roll with Chris Herrmann and Josh Phegley as their MLB catching tandem. Hundley, 35, posted a rough .200/.233/.357 batting line in 31 games with Oakland while he was healthy.