Bruce Bochy's endorsement was ‘surreal' for new Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
When a future Baseball Hall of Fame manager such as Bruce Bochy gives a player his endorsement, it should not be taken lightly.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey took his former manager’s word, and the Giants signed pitcher Tyler Mahle to a one-year, $10 million contract this offseason in MLB free agency.
Mahle, who played for Bochy’s Texas Rangers in the previous two seasons, had high praise for the four-time World Series champion manager in an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic in Scottsdale, Arizona, for “Giants Talk.”
“It was great,” Mahle said of playing for Bochy. “He’s obviously a legend of the game; not just in San Francisco, a legend in baseball.”
Mahle dealt with injuries over the last two seasons and only made 19 starts for the Rangers in that time frame. But, in 2025, the starting pitcher finished with a 6-4 record and an impressive 2.18 ERA.
Bochy, a former catcher, is known for getting the best out of his pitching staff. But a career-best ERA in a season in which Mahle battled a rotator cuff strain is no fluke.
“So, playing for a guy like that, it gives you a little bit more confidence and I think makes you a little bit better,” Mahle told Pavlovic. “It’s surreal to say that I’ve played for a guy like that and for him to say kind words about me, that’s pretty surreal to me too.
“I’m super grateful that I got to be around him.”
Mahle now, with Bochy’s blessing, has a chance to build on a successful 2025 as a member of the Giants.
He, along with fellow free-agent signee Adrian Houser, will help shore up San Francisco’s starting rotation behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray.