Big Mac is officially headed back up north.
Retired 12-time All-Star slugger Mark McGwire is reuniting with the Athletics, John Shea of the San Francisco Standard reports this week. The Athletics are hiring McGwire as a special assistant to player development.
Now 62 years old, McGwire began his MLB career with the Athletics when they were still in Oakland. He played for them from 1986-97, making eight of his All-Star teams, winning two Silver Slugger Awards, earning one Gold Glove Award, and winning a World Series title in 1989.
Ever since retiring as a player, McGwire, who was also inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019, has been working as a coach. He has served as a hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals (the other MLB team McGwire played for) and the Los Angeles Dodgers and spent time as a bench coach for the San Diego Padres as well.
As for the Athletics, they went 76-86 last season during their first year in their temporary home of Sacramento, Calif. But they do have several core young hitters to build around, including Lawrence Butler (25), Tyler Soderstrom (24), 2025 All-Star Jacob Wilson (23), and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz (22).
That is where McGwire should be able to make a big difference for the Athletics. The five-time MLB home runs leader once even received consideration for an NL manager job and is now returning to his first MLB team in a player development role for 2026.
