DENVER -- The Giants announced on Friday that they have reassigned third-base coach Hector Borg to a new role within their player development staff. Ron Wotus will fill the third-base coaching role on an interim basis until the organization identifies a permanent replacement.
Borg has made several questionable calls from the third-base coaching box this season, including a rally killer in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, when he sent Willy Adames home from second when a ball got past Arizona center fielder Jorge Barrosa. The play was backed up by Ryan Waldschmidt in left, who hit the cutoff man en route to Adames easily being thrown out at the plate while Casey Schmitt watched from the on-deck circle.
Manager Tony Vitello called Wotus’ role a “temporary solution,” acknowledging that Wotus has taken on commitments away from the field since retiring, despite maintaining a presence in the dugout during home games.
“He's done a lot for a lot of different people here,” Vitello said of Wotus. “He'll be able to help the whole group bridge to whatever is next for us.”
Wotus has been serving as a special assistant to baseball operations. He previously served as the Giants’ third-base coach and as their bench coach from 1998-2017 and 2020-2021. He also subbed for Borg during a series against the White Sox earlier this month when Borg returned to the Dominican Republic to attend his grandmother’s funeral.
“He’s one of the hardest working guys we have around, certainly one of the most personable and just a high-character guy,” Vitello said of Borg and the hard decision to make the change. “He's been given a lot of opportunities by the Giants, and this is one that, whether it was rushed or whatever it might be, he was kind of thrust into a big position. One thing after another became a difficult environment for everybody. In the long run, I think it can be a real positive for everyone.”
Vitello didn’t offer details on a timeline for finding a permanent solution, but he indicated it would be sooner rather than later, with a change coming closer to the present than to the end of the season.