SF Giants round out Bob Melvin’s staff with pitching, bullpen coach

The San Francisco Giants on Tuesday announced two more additions to 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, who 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. Of the members of former manager Gabe Kapler’s staff who have either taken jobs elsewhere or not confirmed to 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.

Albernaz, who worked closely with Patrick Bailey and was also respected within the organization, departed for a promotion on Stephen Vogt’s new staff in Cleveland. Similarly, Bannister, who played a big role in the Giants’ edge in pitching development, left in September for a bigger job with the White Sox.

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, 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.

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. He spent the past two seasons working with Melvin in San Diego as a senior adviser and, with Williams (the Nationals’ manager from 2014-2015), gives him two coaches with prior major-league managerial experience on his staff.

Alston, 51, earned a sterling reputation within the organization for his work grooming their young hurlers as Sacramento’s pitching coach the past four seasons. He’ll now 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 last week 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.

As for the departures of Bailey and Bannister, they had little choice in the matter as both were said to value roles that allowed them to be closer to family. Albernaz saw an opportunity to join the staff of a close friend and get a promotion out of it.