Nuñez back from injury

SAN DIEGO — Third baseman Eduardo Nuñez is back with the Giants, but for how long?

A free agent after the season, Nuñez said he wants to remain in San Francisco through the season and beyond, but the team is expected to be active before the July 31 trade deadline and could use him as a chip.

“I want to win at some point,” said Nuñez, who was on playoff teams in New York in 2011 and 2012. “I was close a couple times with the Yankees, and we didn’t make it. I think this is the best place to be to win a championship.”

Nuñez, who missed 18 games with a left hamstring strain, hit .299 with 17 steals in the first half, a rare bright spot for a team that went 34-56.

“We’re better than that,” Nuñez said. “We haven’t played well at all. In the second half, we’re hoping everything comes together and we play better for the fans and for the organization.”

Manager Bruce Bochy, happy to have his third baseman back, said, “We missed him. He’s a catalyst on this club with the athleticism he brings and the speed and energy. So it’s good to have him back.”

Although the Giants are thin in the outfield — Gorkys Hernandez started in left Friday, and Kelby Tomlinson and Jae-Gyun Hwang are the fourth and fifth outfielders — Bochy said he wouldn’t play Nuñez in left because he’s coming off a hamstring injury.

When healthy, Nuñez provides a speed element the Giants don’t otherwise have, but Christian Arroyo is said to be the third baseman of the future, though he’s shelved indefinitely with a wrist injury.

To create roster space for Nuñez, outfielder Mac Williamson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento during the All-Star break.

Briefly: Closer Mark Melancon (pronator strain) began throwing off flat ground but isn’t close to returning. “We’re not going to rush this,” Bochy said . ... Hwang, who played third base in Nuñez’s absence, will be used as a pinch-hitter, in double switches and will be available at multiple positions.