SF Giants welcome back a pair of familiar faces as part of Bob Melvin's staff

One of Bob Melvin's first tasks this offseason will be putting together his coaching staff. On Friday, the SF Giants announced some of the new additions, including Matt Williams as the third base coach and Pat Burrell as the hitting coach.

SF Giants welcome back a pair of familiar faces as part of Bob Melvin's staff

Former outfielder Ryan Christenson was named the team's bench coach. J.P. Martinez, Mark Hallberg, Alyssa Nakken, and Taira Uematsu are all remaining on the staff as well. Hallberg will become the team's new first base coach after spending the last two seasons coaching third base.

There is plenty of baseball experience with this staff and some familiar faces as well. Williams played in the majors for 17 seasons, including 10 with the Giants. Since he retired after the 2003 season, he has remained in baseball as both a coach and a manager. The 57-year-old had served as the third base coach on Melvin's staff with the San Diego Padres but there was an expectation that he would return to San Francisco following the hire of Melvin.

On the other hand, Burrell played for 12 seasons with his last two years in San Francisco. He had remained with the Giants in various roles and had been a trusted voice for the front office. This will be his most significant coaching role since retiring following the 2011 season.

Christenson played in parts of six seasons, most notably with the Oakland A's in the late 1990's and early 2000's. He took some time off from baseball before returning to coach. The 49-year-old managed several Oakland A's minor league affiliates before being added to Melvin's staff as a bench coach. He has served in that role with both the A's and Padres.

Of course, there are plenty of other familiar names with the staff as well. J.P. Martinez will remain as an assistant pitching coach. The Giants will likely be searching for a new pitching coach with the expectation that Andrew Bailey will pursue opportunities elsewhere.

Taira Uematsu and Alyssa Nakken will return in similar roles. Nakken was under consideration for the Giants' managerial earlier in the offseason. Next season will be her 11th year with the organization. Kai Correa and Antoan Richardson served on last year's staff, but neither one was mentioned in the team announcement.