Former San Francisco Giants Jake Peavy, Hunter Pence join MLB Network

Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Jake Peavy and outfielder Hunter Pence are the two newest additions to the on-air talent at MLB Network. The duo are among a bevy of new additions to the network in the last three weeks.

Former San Francisco Giants players Jake Peavy and Hunter Pence are joining MLB Network

Jake Peavy and Hunter Pence were teammates for three years with the San Francisco Giants, including on their 2014 World Series Champion team, and they will be teammates again on MLB Network.

Peavy, 40, spent parts of 15 seasons in the majors with the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, the Giants, and the Boston Red Sox. He was a three-time All-Star who also won the 2007 NL Cy Young Award. He last played in the majors in 2016 with the Giants.

Pence, who turns 39 in two weeks, spent parts of 14 seasons in the majors with the Giants, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers. He was a four-time All-Star who last played in 2020.

Both Peavy and Pence have a little bit of broadcast experience as they both have been guests analysts on MLB Network during the 2021 season. However, Pence has a little bit more experience, despite retiring later. He was an occasional studio analyst and game analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area for the Giants in 2021 and he also had a podcast with The Athletic in 2021.

Peavy and Pence are the two newest people to become on-air talent for the network since the lockout ended on March 10.

Since then, MLB Network has hired former catcher Alex Avila, former infielder/GM/coach Ruben Amaro, Jr., former outfielder Cameron Maybin, and former coach/manager Bo Porter as analysts. Additionally, they have added hosts A.J. Andrews, Keiana Martin, and Siera Santos in the last three weeks.

All of these hires come on the heels of MLBN not renewing the contract of insider Ken Rosenthal reportedly due to criticism over Commissioner Rob Manfred, host Chris Rose, and numerous behind-the-scenes personnel in the last year, when MLB claimed that they were losing money due to the pandemic.