Guardians go big: Add history making Giants coach to…
The Cleveland Guardians reportedly added to their front office earlier this week by hiring former Tampa Bay Rays Pitching Strategist Bobby Kinne as their new Director of Baseball Operations.
However, this supposedly is not Cleveland’s only front office addition this offseason.
According to multiple reports, first reported by 95.7 The Game’s Steven Rissotto, the Guardians have hired San Francisco Giants Major League Assistant Coach Alyssa Nakken as a player development assistant. This news was also reported by MLB.com’s Maria Guardado.
The 34-year-old Nakken, who had served as a Major League Assistant Coach for the Giants since 2020, became the first woman to coach on the field in an MLB game during the 2022 season.
Her tenure with San Francisco began in 2014, when she served as a baseball operations intern. She eventually joined Giants Enterprises, the team’s event planning organization, before joining the Giants’ coaching staff.
Nakken reportedly reunites with a pair of coaches she worked with while with San Francisco. Guardians Associate Manager Craig Albernaz was previously the Giants’ bullpen coach and catching instructor, and Cleveland Major League Field Coordinator Kai Correa was previously San Francisco’s bench coach.
Prior to her time with the Giants, Nakken had an impressive collegiate softball career at Sacramento State from 2009 to 2012.
She was a four-time All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference selection, garnering First Team honors during her senior year. For her career, she hit .304 with 171 hits, 115 runs, 34 doubles, 19 home runs, 83 RBI, and a .379 on-base percentage in 184 games.
Three years after her softball playing career ended, Nakken earned her master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco. She also served as the University of San Francisco baseball team’s Chief Information Officer before becoming part of the Giants organization.
