Giants reassign pitching coach Righetti after 17 seasons

One of the worst seasons in San Francisco Giants history has led to a major shake-up of Bruce Bochy's coaching staff.

The Giants announced Saturday that longtime pitching coach Dave Righetti has been reassigned within the organization after 17 seasons on the job. Righetti will now work as a special assistant to general manager Bobby Evans.

Righetti had been a mainstay in the Giants' dugout since first joining the team as Dusty Baker's pitching coach in 2000, and worked for three different managers in Baker, Bochy, and Felipe Alou. Under his watch the team developed many homegrown pitching talents, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, as well as All-Stars Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain.

The 58-year-old Righetti, who also pitched in the majors for 16 seasons, served as pitching coach for all three of the Giants' World Series championships this decade, along with their pennant-winning 2002 squad.

But the Giants fell on hard times in 2017, losing 98 games in what ended up as the second-worst season in franchise history. Much of their struggles were due to a lackluster pitching staff; among Giants starters, only Bumgarner - who made just 17 starts due to injury - posted an ERA+ above 100 this year.

As a unit, San Francisco pitchers allowed 182 home runs in 2017, representing the team's highest total in over 20 years.

Two other Giants coaches were also removed from the dugout in addition to Righetti. Bullpen coach Mark Gardner was reassigned to work in a special assignment role in pitching evaluation, while assistant hitting coach Steve Decker is now a special assistant in the baseball operations department.

San Francisco also reportedly interviewed Boston Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis for that same position earlier this week, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.