Giants Rumors: Hensley Meulens to Interview for Vacant Managerial Position

San Francisco Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens will reportedly interview for the club's vacant manager position this week following the retirement of Bruce Bochy.

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported Meulens, who previously interviewed with the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees in recent years, will be the Giants' first candidate to meet with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

Meulens arrived in San Francisco as the team's hitting coach in 2010. He was promoted to bench coach ahead of the 2018 season after helping the team win three World Series titles in eight years.

The 52-year-old Curacao native also served as manager of the Netherlands' national baseball team in the 2013 and 2017 editions of the World Baseball Classic. The Dutch reached the semifinals in both tournaments.

In March, Zaidi told Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic he'd track Meulens, who earned the nickname Bam Bam for his power during his early playing days, throughout the 2019 season.

"I've had conversations with Bam Bam, understanding his managerial aspirations," he said. "I know he's interested in that position here. And I just said, 'You know, the best case you can make for yourself is doing the bench coach job as well as I've heard you've been doing it.' Because when you're the bench coach, you're just one seat away, one step away, from being the manager."

Meulens is "well-liked by players," in part because he speaks five languages fluently and is "well-versed in the analytics" side of the sport, per Pavlovic.

The former Yankees, Montreal Expos and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder is the oddsmakers' co-favorite to take over the Giants' managerial job with nine-time MLB All-Star Carlos Beltran, who finished the 2011 season with San Francisco, according to Michael Lerseth of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Zaidi's selection will inherit a team that's now missed the playoffs in three straight seasons after posting a 77-85 record in 2019.