May 24, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres hats in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Padres Coach Poached by NL West Rival

Originally posted on San Diego Padres on SI
By Maren Angus-Coombs | Last updated Dec 7, 2024 10:59 AM ET

A reunion of sorts is taking place in San Francisco as manager Bob Melvin welcomes a familiar face to his coaching staff.

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported that former San Diego Padres assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard will have the same role with the Giants. Barnard will work alongside lead hitting coach Pat Burrell.

The Giants made Bernard’s hiring official Thursday, per Justice Delos Santos of Mercury News.

The Giants announce that they've hired Oscar Bernard and Damon Minor to serve as assistant hitting coaches under Bob Melvin.

Additionally, Taira Uematsu was promoted to quality control coach.
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) December 5, 2024

Baggarly also noted it ws important for the Giants to find a bilingual coach. Bernard speaks fluent Spanish and that was deemed necessary for the job.

In 2023, Bernard served as an assistant hitting coach for the Padres under Bob Melvin. Following Melvin’s move to manage the Giants, Bernard returned to a role as a minor league hitting coordinator, a position he held with San Diego from 2016 to 2022. His coaching experience also includes working with minor league hitters in the Rangers and Cubs organizations.

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The Giants experienced significant turnover on their coaching staff this offseason, losing multiple key members. However, some were expected.

Pitching coach Bryan Price stepped down. In response, the team promoted J.P. Martinez to fill the role. Martinez has been part of the Giants coaching staff since 2020, serving as an assistant pitching coach.

Hitting coaches Justin Viele and Pedro Guerrero both departed for new opportunities. Viele reunited with Donnie Ecker as a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers, while Guerrero made a lateral move to join the Miami Marlins. Notably, the Marlins had shown interest in Guerrero even before hiring Clayton McCullough as manager, partly influenced by Gabe Kapler's presence in Miami's front office.

Alyssa Nakken, who had been with the Giants for nearly a decade, also left the organization. Nakken accepted a role as assistant director of player development with the Cleveland Guardians. She previously worked in San Francisco's baseball operations before being promoted to the coaching staff when Kapler took over after the 2019 season.

Despite these departures, the Giants are bringing in fresh talent.

Bernard, who had a brief playing career with the Cubs in the early 2000s, joins the staff. Bernard has extensive experience as a hitting coach, having worked with the Rangers, Cubs, and Padres.