SF Giants replace pitching coach Bryan Price with internal promotion

It was an oddly busy October day for the SF Giants on Tuesday. Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic confirmed that pitching coach Bryan Price would be stepping down from his role. Shortly thereafter, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that J.P. Martinez would be named Price's replacement.

SF Giants replace pitching coach Bryan Price with internal promotion

Even Ryan Vogelsong was floated as a potential replacement. Martinez has been with the Giants since 2020. He served as an assistant pitching coach for the past three seasons, replacing Ethan Katz in that role.

Katz spent the 2020 season with the Giants before he joined the Chicago White Sox as the team's pitching coach. Despite some changes along the way in Chicago, Katz has remained in his role.

On the other hand, Martinez had worked as an assistant pitching coordinator for the Minnesota Twins organization before joining San Francisco. Much of a coach's work is behind the scenes, so it is always tough to tell how much of an impact on individual makes. That said, the Giants must have liked what they saw from Martinez as they rewarded him with a promotion.

Price's tenure with the Giants comes to an end after one season. He was one of Bob Melvin's first hires when he took the Giants' gig. Though, this was likely going to be a short-term position for Price given that he previously retired from full-time coaching with the Philadelphia Phillies after the 2020 season.

The veteran pitching voice has been on coaching staffs for the past 25 years and has often served as a trusted advisor to Melvin. His coaching stints include the Seattle Mariners (2000 - 2005), Arizona Diamondbacks (2006 - 2009), Cincinnati Reds (2010 - 2013), Phillies (2020), San Diego Padres (2022 - 2023), and Giants (2024).

In addition to this, Price managed the Reds for parts of five seasons beginning in 2014. He went 279 - 387 during his time with Cincinnati and did not reach the playoffs.

Price has been extremely loyal to Melvin during his time as a coach. He resigned immediately from his position with the Diamondbacks once Mevin was dismissed as the manager in 2009. While Price did retire from full-time coaching, he did serve as an advisor to Melvin's coaching staff with San Diego.

Price grew up in the Bay Area and attended Cal before he was selected in the eighth round of the 1984 draft by the California Angels. He could not pass up an opportunity to work with his local team once Melvin became San Francisco's manager.

Oddly enough, the Giants did not survey the market for external hires before choosing J.P. Martinez as Price's replacement. They could still use some outside pitching help as they have struggled to replace two key voices from last offseason.