Sources: Giants interview Nakken for manager

San Francisco Giants coach Alyssa Nakken has interviewed for the team’s open managerial job, becoming the first woman to speak with an organization formally about leading its on-field operations, sources confirmed to ESPN on Sunday.

Nakken, 33, was the first female full-time coach in Major League Baseball when she was hired in January 2020 by Gabe Kapler, who the Giants fired in September. As a major league assistant coach, she has worked with players for the last four seasons, and in April 2022 she filled in as first-base coach for a game following an ejection.

Along with Nakken, the Giants have interviewed a pair of incumbents — bench coach Kai Correa and third-base coach Mark Hallberg — and will not limit themselves to internal options as they look to replace Kapler. The Giants fired him with three games remaining in a disappointing season that ended with a 79-83 record and fourth-place finish in the National League West.

Nakken’s ascent to the major league staff with the Giants, where she started in 2014 as a baseball operations intern, has coincided with more women joining minor league staffs — a dozen-plus in uniform, including Rachel Balkovec, the manager of the New York Yankees‘ Low-A affiliate for the last two seasons. Nakken remains the only female major league coach.

Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng, hired in November 2020, was the first female GM in major North American men’s professional sports.

The interview with Nakken, which was first reported by The Athletic, was part of a first round that could include Giants catching coach Craig Albernaz, who is also in contention for the Cleveland Guardians‘ managerial opening. Currently, the Giants, Guardians, New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels have managerial spots to fill, and Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell’s contract is expiring.