SAN FRANCISCO -- Bruce Bochy said goodbye at the end of September, but he's not going to be far away.

Bochy will serve as a special advisor for the organization, a role the Giants had set for him when he retired last February. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi confirmed Thursday that Bochy will be with the Giants for at least part of spring training, which begins Tuesday in Scottsdale.

The Giants had not previously announced Bochy's role, but he never stopped working for them. Bochy was involved with the interview process to choose his successor and was at the Winter Meetings, which were held in his hometown of San Diego. He has been up in San Francisco for chunks of the offseason and was at the ballpark Thursday, meeting with Alyssa Nakken among others.

The Giants have a long history of keeping their own around as special advisors. Dusty Baker was a special advisor to team president and CEO Larry Baer last year but now will manager the Houston Astros. That's a job that potentially could have gone to Bochy, but he has been adamant that he's taking at least a year off.

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Bochy will be in a dugout for games this spring, though. He will manage Team France in World Baseball Classic qualifying.