Fansided’s Robert Murray reports that, according to his sources, the San Francisco Giants have hired Justin Meccage (pronounced “Message”) to be their pitching coach in 2025. Meccage is a 45-year old former Yankee farmhand with a diverse coaching and development background that probably stood out for the similarly well-traveled Tony Vitello.
He was drafted by the Yankees in the 32nd round of the 2002 MLB draft — that was the Matt Cain & Travis Ishikawa draft for the Giants, who selected RHP Joe Bateman
in round 32 — and lasted just a couple of seasons in their minors before getting into coaching. From 2004 to 2007 he coached at University of Texas-Pan American before moving on to Arkansas State University for 2007 to 2010 to work as their pitching coach. Notably, the Giants selected four players from there who had Meccage as their pitching coach: RHP Brandon Farley in 2012, RHP Chase Ware in 2008, and RHPs T.J Brewer & Tim Egart in 2007.
He caught on with the Pirates in 2011 and “served as a pitching coach at various levels through 2016” until a promotion to Minor League Pitching Coordinator in 2017. He became the major league staff’s assistant pitching coach in 2018 and served in that role for a couple of seasons (the Pirates were just 20th best in MLB 2018-2019). He shifted over to bullpen coach for the next five seasons before being let go. In 2025, he was the pitching coach for Milwaukee’s Triple-A Nashville squad, which had the third-best team ERA in the International League (3.91).
So, he has a lot of experience and he’s worked in the outhouse and the penthouse of organizations. The Nashville job is an intriguing line on his resume as the Brewers organization has a famously fantastic pitching program. He would’ve had a hand in putting the finishing touches on the likes of top prospects Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, and Craig Yoho along with veteran Brandon Woodruff’s rehab. These are all important skills for a team hoping to improve or finish the development of young arms (::ahem:: Hayden Birdsong) and rehab veterans who won’t cost a lot on the major league payroll (Max Scherzer! Tony Gonsolin! Jordan Montgomery? Madison Bumgarner?!).
He was born in 1980, which immediately gave me pause because it reminded me that, someday, I will be older than an entire coaching staff — but it was less that I forgot about J.P. Martinez (43), Antoan Richardson (42), Kai Correa (currently 37), and Alyssa Nakken (born in 1990) and more that Justin’s on-field time is evident on his face! That is a leathery glove of a face. A character actor would kill for that. That is what gold prospectors looked like. And lest you think I’m being way too mean, here’s an amusing anecdote from Giants beat writer Justice delos Santos:
He is a man wise beyond his years, perhaps, and the burden of such knowledge might’ve simply aged him a little faster than others. In his reporting, Robert Murray dropped in this Derek Shelton quote: “I think Justin Meccage is going to be a pitching coach. He has unbelievable knowledge[.]” Here he is at the end of the 2015 talking about his Arizona Fall League squad:
In 2015 & 2016, he was the pitching coach for Pittsburgh’s Double-A Altoona team which featured basically a dozen major leaguers, including Charlie Morton and Ryan Vogelsong on respective comeback trails. Mainly, though, he coached Tyler Glasnow for two years and Clay Holmes for one.
