A couple of familiar names highlighted the additions to new Giants manager Bob Melvin’s coaching staff.
The Giants announced Friday that five-time All-Star Matt Williams and 2010 World Series champion Pat Burrell will be coming on board as third-base coach and hitting coach, respectively.
Williams, who starred in San Francisco for 10 seasons (1987-96), will reprise the role he held with the Padres over the past two years, with Mark Hallberg shifting across the diamond to take over as the club’s first-base coach.
Burrell, a Bay Area native who played for the Giants for two seasons (2010-11), was promoted to the Major League staff after spending the past four seasons as a roving hitting instructor in the organization. He’ll work alongside co-hitting coach Justin Viele and assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero, both of whom will be back in 2024.
Ryan Christenson, who served as Melvin’s right-hand man in Oakland and San Diego, was also appointed the new bench coach.
A few other holdovers from the Gabe Kapler era are due to return, including assistant coaches J.P. Martinez, Alyssa Nakken and Taira Uematsu, though the rest of the staff is still being finalized.
At least two coaches have already landed with other teams, with director of pitching Brian Bannister joining the White Sox and bullpen coach Craig Albernaz departing to work under former Giants and A’s catcher Stephen Vogt in Cleveland.
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has said that pitching coach Andrew Bailey has been given permission to speak with other teams, as he has expressed a desire to be closer to his family on the East Coast. The status of fellow incumbents Kai Correa, Antoan Richardson, Nick Ortiz and Dustin Lind remains unclear as well.