The San Francisco Giants have lured Hunter Mense away from the Toronto Blue Jays to join their staff as hitting coach, according to The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon. The move reunites Mense with New York's new manager, Tony Vitello, under whom he played at the University of Missouri.
Mense had been the quiet architect behind Toronto’s offensive consistency since 2018, when he began as the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ hitting coach. That same year, New Hampshire won the Eastern League championship under his guidance. After three seasons as the Blue Jays’ minor league hitting coordinator, the 41-year-old earned a promotion to the big-league staff in 2022.
During his four seasons on Toronto’s major league staff, Mense helped develop one of baseball’s most productive offenses. This year, the Blue Jays ranked fourth in MLB with 798 runs scored during the regular season and advanced to Game 7 of the World Series before losing 5–4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Working alongside hitting coach David Popkins and assistant Lou Iannotti, Mense contributed to the steady improvement of Toronto’s lineup, which showed noticeable improvement in 2025.
His departure adds another blow to the Blue Jays’ staff this offseason. Bench coach Don Mattingly also exited, drawing interest from the Philadelphia Phillies, according to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Before transitioning to coaching, Mense was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. Over five minor league seasons, he worked up a .254 batting average with 19 home runs across 349 games, reaching as high as Triple-A in 2010.
