Losing Donnie Ecker may have been one of the most significant moments in recent San Francisco Giants history. Ecker was hired as part of the Giants' large new coaching staff under then-new manager Gabe Kapler entering the 2020 season. Ecker was part of a three-person hitting group, that included Justin Viele and Dustin Lind. Those two remain in the organization, but Ecker left for the Texas Rangers after the Giants shocked with world with a 107-win season in 2021.

Now that Kapler has been fired and the SF Giants are searching for a new manager, The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser reports that Ecker is "expected to be among the potential front-runners" for the Giants' managerial opening. It makes all the sense in the world, as it appears now with two years of hindsight that Ecker had a tremendously positive impact on the SF Giants' offense. Bringing him back as manager would be the only way to offer him a promotion, which the Rangers are supposed to support even if he remains under contract in Texas.

In other news, SF Giants General Manager Pete Putila was spotted in South Korea scouting Jung-Hoo Lee, a center fielder who's going to be posted and available for MLB teams to sign this offseason. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi recently told NBC Sprots Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic that the SF Giants have interest in Lee and Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but there figures to be heavy competition for both.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

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