KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City is adding a Liberty High School graduate to the major league hitting room, bringing Hunter Mense aboard as an assistant coach after his season leading the San Francisco Giants staff.
Mense, 42, is set to work under manager Matt Quatraro beside Connor Dawson and Marcus Thames. The opening opened after Alec Zumwalt was moved back to the minor leagues last month.
Before San Francisco, Mense spent years in the Toronto Blue Jays system, including time as a minor league hitting coordinator and four seasons as a big league assistant starting in 2022. He earlier broke into coaching with the San Diego Padres organization in 2017.
The hire returns him to the metro he grew up in. After starring at Liberty High School he played at the University of Missouri, earned All-America honors in 2006 and helped the Tigers reach an NCAA Super Regional.
Kansas City has been reshaping its offense-facing coaches after limited production the past two seasons. Zumwalt had been the lead hitting coach; Dawson and Thames joined as assistants in 2025, and Mense now fills the vacated big league chair.
On the Giants staff under manager Tony Vitello, San Francisco finished mid-pack in batting average and hits in 2026 but ranked near the bottom in walks and on-base percentage, according to season totals cited with the hire.
Mense will inherit a core that includes Bobby Witt Jr., Jac Caglianone, Carter Jensen, Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Michael Massey and Salvador Perez. Witt, Caglianone and Jensen were named American League Silver Slugger finalists on Thursday.
Club officials have framed Zumwalt’s move as part of a longer succession plan. Mense becomes the newest piece of that reset as Kansas City looks for more consistent run production in 2027.
The Giants must now replace their primary hitting coach this offseason after Mense spent one year running San Francisco’s staff under manager Tony Vitello.
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