The San Francisco Giants on Tuesday rounded out new manager Bob Melvin’s coaching staff, adding some familiarity to a pitching department that was expected to see some turnover despite its successes under the previous regime.
Bryan Price, the first pitching coach Melvin ever worked with, will take over the position from Andrew Bailey, whom the organization would have liked to have back but has been pursuing jobs closer to his family on the East Coast, while Garvin Alston was promoted from Triple-A pitching coach to replace Craig Albernaz as the bullpen coach.
The new hires bring Melvin’s staff to 11, with Price joining third base coach Matt Williams and bench coach Ryan Christenson as newcomers to the organization who have history with Melvin.
“It really worked out exactly how we wanted,” Melvin said. “Farhan was so supportive of bringing in some guys that were important to me, but the continuity … and being able to promote from within and have guys come from the outside, too, it’s really worked out well for us. We feel really good about where we’re positioned right now.”
The job is a homecoming for Price, 61, who was born in San Francisco and attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley and Cal, as well as a reunion with Melvin, a fellow Berkeley alumnus who kept him on when he was hired for his first managerial gig in Seattle in 2003 and spent six seasons with him as his pitching coach, earning Baseball America’s Coach of the Year honor in 2007.
“Bryan was really my first coach,” Melvin said. “In Seattle, my first year managing in ’03, Bryan was my guy. Then I went over to Arizona with him and he went on to do some other great things, managing and so forth.”
Ever since, Melvin has been trying to lure Price back onto his staff.
“Bryan’s name up as a candidate when we were both in Oakland,” Zaidi said, “so I know that it’s been a long pursuit for Bob.”
Melvin convinced Price to join his staff in San Diego as a senior adviser, but he figured his uniformed days were behind him. Until Melvin called with the opportunity to put on the jersey of his hometown Giants.
“I don’t know that there was another job on a major-league staff that he would have taken other than this one,” Melvin said, echoing his own message from when he was introduced last month. “Similar to myself and some other guys, you hope at some point in time, you end up in the dugout of the San Francisco Giants. That was the allure to him.”
Price has 15 years of experience as a pitching coach between the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Reds and Phillies, in addition to a five-year tenure as Cincinnati’s manager from 2014-2018. With Williams (the Nationals’ manager from 2014-2015), he also gives him two coaches with prior major-league managerial experience on his staff.
As a four-time All-Star third baseman, Williams has history with the Giants but even more extensive experience with Melvin, who has hired him in Oakland, San Diego and now San Francisco.
“This might be like my sixth or seventh team with Matt, so we have some history together,” Melvin said. “But the Giant flavor, a fan favorite when he played here, he’s always considered himself a Giant, this was an easy one.”
Alston, 51, also arrives with major-league experience on his résumé, having spent the 2018 season as the Twins’ pitching coach prior to taking the same role with the River Cats. He earned a sterling reputation within the organization for his work grooming San Francisco’s young hurlers the past three seasons, and now, he’ll oversee their transition to the majors, with the Giants counting on contributions from Kyle Harrison, Tristan Beck, Keaton Winn and a host of other homegrown arms who have passed through Alston’s hands.
The Giants went in a similar direction when they appointed Pat Burrell as hitting coach. Like Alston and their young pitchers, Burrell has worked with nearly every young position player in the organization while roving between minor-league affiliates the past three seasons.
Despite finishing last season as one of the worst offensive groups in the majors, Zaidi said “we have a lot of confidence and belief” in Justin Viele and Pedro Guerrero, who will return to their roles as co- and assistant hitting coaches.
“I just think Pat’s gonna have a different dynamic that they’re excited about, that our players are excited about,” Zaidi said. “I’ve been really impressed with his ability to connect with players, not just be a hitting mechanics guru but also understand the psychological part of the game, the cheerleading aspect of the game, respecting how hard hitting is.
“I think for Pat to bring that wealth of experience and connections and relationships he has with our young players, I think it’s just going to be a boost to our hitting group. … A little bit of a different dynamic can only help us after some of the struggles last year.”
Of the 11 coaches on Melvin’s staff, six were in the dugout last season: Mark Hallberg, who is moving from third to first base coach, assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez, Viele, Guerrero and assistants Alyssa Nakken and Taira Uematsu.
The other members of former manager Gabe Kapler’s staff who have either taken jobs elsewhere or will not be staying on are Bailey, Albernaz, director of pitching Brian Bannister, first base coach Antoan Richardson, bench coach Kai Correa, assistant hitting coach Dustin Lind and quality control coach Nick Ortiz.
Bailey interviewed this week to be Aaron Boone’s bench coach in the Bronx, according to the New York Post, and is a candidate for other pitching coach positions on the East Coast. Albernaz, who worked closely with Patrick Bailey, departed for a promotion on Stephen Vogt’s new staff in Cleveland as the major-league field coordinator.
Similarly, Bannister, who played a big role in the Giants’ edge in pitching development, left in September for a job with the White Sox, and Zaidi said they don’t have “definitive plans” to fill the position but will spread the responsibilities between Price, Martinez and Clay Rapada and Justin Lehr, two influential members of their pitching development group.
As for the others who won’t be back?
Well, two areas the Giants are seeking to improve this offseason are defense and base running.
Richardson, as the first base and outfield coach, had a hand in both. Correa earned plaudits for his work with Thairo Estrada, J.D. Davis and even Brandon Crawford, but ultimately was responsible for an infield unit that made the most errors in the majors last season.
Giants 2024 Coaching Staff
- Bench Coach – Ryan Christenson
- Third Base Coach – Matt Williams
- First Base Coach – Mark Hallberg
- Pitching Coach – Bryan Price
- Assistant Pitching Coach – J.P. Martinez
- Bullpen Coach – Garvin Alston
- Hitting Coach – Justin Viele
- Hitting Coach – Pat Burrell
- Assistant Hitting Coach – Pedro Guerrero
- Assistant Coach – Alyssa Nakken
- Assistant Coach – Taira Uematsu
