At least 3 members of Giants staff returning under new manager Vitello

New Giants manager Tony Vitello will have several big coaching vacancies to fill this offseason, but he won’t have to build his staff entirely from scratch.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey told reporters at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday that assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard, Major League quality control coach Taira Uematsu and bullpen catcher Eliezer Zambrano will return to the Giants in 2026. First-base coach Mark Hallberg and catching coach Alex Burg could also be retained, though the club has given them permission to explore opportunities with other teams.

The state of San Francisco’s coaching staff has been in flux ever since the club decided to dismiss Bob Melvin and bring in Vitello to succeed him as manager. Most of Melvin’s lieutenants -- including bench coach Ryan Christenson, third-base coach Matt Williams, pitching coach J.P. Martinez, bullpen coach Garvin Alston and assistant hitting coach Damon Minor -- are no longer on the big league staff, giving Vitello an opportunity to add some new voices to the Giants’ coaching ranks.

Posey said Vitello will have agency in putting together his support staff, though he also expects the front office to have some input in whom the Giants target to fill their open positions.

“We're certainly very much involved in the process,” Posey said. “I think Tony will tell you the same thing. It has been a collaboration, and I think you're going to be most productive in that way. I don't think it would be fair for me to come in and say, ‘I am going to choose every single person.’ That's just not the way that I think is best, or vice versa for him to operate that way, as well.”

The only hire Vitello has made is former Padres manager Jayce Tingler, though his exact title is still being finalized. Pat Burrell is also expected to remain in the organization in some capacity, though he probably won’t stay on as the Giants’ hitting coach.

The departure of Martinez stands out as a particularly notable loss for the Giants, who ranked 10th in the Majors with a 3.82 team ERA in 2025. Martinez had been under contract through next season, but he opted to take a new opportunity as the Braves’ bullpen coach.

“We hadn't told him that he was not going to be returning,” Posey said. “I'm a J.P. fan and had a good talk with him when he took the job. I told him I think he's going to be successful, and maybe we'll see him down the road.”

What does Posey view as his ideal pitching coach?

“I think I probably feel the same about the pitching coaches as I do with other coaches,” Posey said. “Ultimately, it's about establishing trust and relationship with your pitchers. There's no question that there's a different language that's spoken nowadays.”

While the coaching staff remains a work in progress, the Giants’ front office has already gotten a major boost from the return of former manager Bruce Bochy, who was brought on board as a special advisor to baseball operations on Monday.

“[Bochy has] already talked with Tony a couple of times,” Posey said. “And then for myself, I've said this before. When I was a player, I never looked at our relationship like we were friends. It was kind of like, ‘He's in the power position, and I'm going to stay in my lane.’ But I consider him a friend now. He's somebody easy for me to pick up the phone, or [assistant general manager] Jeremy [Shelley] as well. [General manager] Zack [Minasian] doesn't know him quite as well, but you can call him on a wide range of topics.

“He reads people well. He's still got a great mind for the game, and we're just thrilled to have him back in the organization. I think I get most excited because I can tell he's excited about it. Talking to him about it, he's open to help in any way that he can, so it should be great.”

Black traded to Royals
The Giants traded right-hander Mason Black to the Royals in exchange for righty pitching prospect Logan Martin on Tuesday.

Martin, 24, was a 12th-round Draft pick of the Royals in 2023, and he logged a 3.45 ERA over 22 starts at High-A Quad Cities this year. Black, 25, was designated for assignment to clear roster spots for outfielder Justin Dean and left-hander Reiver Sanmartin last week.

MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell and Jake Rill contributed reporting from Las Vegas.