After one season, Bryan Price is out as the Giants’ pitching coach.
And after four years serving as a deputy, J.P. Martinez was elevated to take his place on Bob Melvin’s coaching staff, the Giants announced Friday.
It should be a smooth transition, as Martinez already possesses a deep understanding of the Giants’ personnel and pitching philosophy, having joined the organization in 2021 and taking on a broad range of responsibilities as the assistant first to Andrew Bailey and then Price in 2024.
The shakeup is the third within the Giants’ pitching department since Dave Righetti was shown the door after 18 seasons in the role after the 2017 season. His replacement, Curt Young, departed along with Bruce Bochy following the 2019 season, Bailey took the same job with the Boston Red Sox after last season to be closer to his family, and the club also lost director of pitching Brian Bannister to the White Sox the same winter.
The departure of Price, 62, shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, though. In its release, the club noted that he made the decision to step down.
A native of Mill Valley, a childhood Giants fan and a longtime confidant and coaching companion of Melvin’s, Price made it clear that the opportunity was about the only way to convince him to don a uniform and spend 162 games in the dugout again. He told The Athletic that he was offered a two-year contract before this season but insisted on only committing to one year at a time.
After 16 seasons as a pitching coach for four clubs and another five as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Price initially announced his retirement from a decorated coaching career after the 2020 season — until Melvin asked him to join him in San Diego as a senior advisor and eventually take on an even more hands-on role in San Francisco.
Martinez, 42, was hired from the Minnesota Twins, where he held a variety of roles over six seasons, by then-manager Gabe Kapler.
When then-catching coordinator Craig Albernaz moved from the bullpen to the dugout midway through 2023, Martinez assumed his post as the coach in the bullpen. He moved back to the dugout this season with Garvin Alston handling the relievers, freeing up Martinez to impart his institutional knowledge on Price, a newcomer.
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In his time with the pitching group, Giants pitchers have the fourth-lowest ERA in the National League at 3.80.
With Martinez’s promotion, the Giants now possess only one pitching coach — along with Alston, who held the role for the Triple-A River Cats before joining the big-league staff — after splitting the duties between up to three men over the past four seasons.
The club did not name a replacement for Martinez as the assistant pitching coach, and it has also left the director of pitching title previously held by Bannister vacant.
It was not made immediately clear if there will be any additional changes on Melvin’s coaching staff after a disappointing 80-82 finish in his first season at the helm. But if the Giants do opt to round out their pitching personnel, one person to keep an eye on is Ryan Vogelsong, who has been a roving minor-league instructor and, of course, possesses a preexisting relationship with their new president of baseball operations, Buster Posey.
