SF Giants hire former Reds manager Bryce Price as pitching coach
The SF Giants announced on Tuesday that the team has hired Bryan Price as pitching coach. Price has been tied to the Giants staff throughout the offseason, but it was unclear what his role would look like. With incumbent pitching coach Andrew Bailey a candidate for jobs with three different teams in the American League East, the Giants appear to have moved on. While it's possible that Bailey could return as the director of pitching, that seems unlikely. In their announcement, San Francisco also confirmed a report on Monday that Garvin Alston will be the bullpen coach.
Reds manager Bryan Price in the dugout during a game against the SF Giants. (2016)
David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Price, like manager Bob Melvin, is a Bay Area native. Born in San Francisco, Price attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley and played college baseball at Cal before he was drafted in the eighth round of the 1984 MLB Draft by the California Angels. Price never played in the major leagues, retiring after five minor league seasons.
Since hanging up his cleats, Price has been one of the most well-regarded pitching coaches in the league for the past twenty years. Price was first a MLB pitching coach with the Seattle Mariners from 2001-2006, working under Melvin for a portion of his tenure. He reunited with Melvin as the Diamondbacks pitching coach from 2007-2009, resigning when Arizona fired Melvin.
Price soon became the top pitching coach with the Cincinnati Reds, a position he held from 2010-2013 before he was promoted to manager, replacing Dusty Baker. Price was the Reds manager for five seasons, and was unable to have the same success he had as an assistant coach. He struggled to a 279-387 record and never reached the postseason.
Fired by the Reds at the end of the 2018 season, Price spent one season as the Phillies pitching coach before deciding to step away from full-time coaching. After a couple of seasons off, he returned to coaching as a senior advisor to the Padres coaching staff, where he once again worked with Melvin. Now, it seems, Bryan Price feels ready to return to a full-time role as the SF Giants pitching coach.
