The Giants’ season has been rough enough that it would be tempting to pin everything on the rookie manager. But Tony Vitello didn’t walk into a clean situation, and the record tells only part of the story.
San Francisco sits at 42-75 and fourth in the National League West, a mark that makes the first year of Vitello’s run look ugly on the surface. Still, the bigger problem is that the former University of Tennessee coach inherited a roster with serious holes, especially on the pitching side. The team entered the year without enough MLB-caliber arms in the rotation, and that weakness has been exposed over and over.
There’s been little stability to lean on. Logan Webb has been one of the steady veterans, while Carson Whisenhunt is still in the middle of his development. That imbalance has helped create the long dry spells that have sunk the club, leaving it without enough quality outings on the mound to stop the bleeding.
The problems haven’t stopped there. Injuries have piled up.
Consistency has been hard to find. And, for the most part, underachievement has defined the season.
The bullpen has been a mess, and high-priced veterans Rafael Devers and Willy Adames struggled for much of the year, which only added to the frustration.
That’s why the idea of judging Vitello too quickly feels premature. He’s a rookie skipper in a new environment, and the kind of growing pains that come with that are hardly surprising. The better test, as the reporting suggests, may come at the end of year two, which is when president of baseball operations Buster Posey would be expected to assess things more seriously around this time next year if there still isn’t a turnaround.
Vitello’s case rests on more than patience, though. His background with young players matters, and his track record at the amateur level shows he can develop talent. Four of his former Vols are already in the Giants’ organization, a built-in connection that gives him a chance to shape the next wave from the start.
That kind of fit is part of the appeal. With a pipeline of prospects and a reputation for working well with young players, Vitello has a chance to grow with the roster if the situation in San Francisco improves. And if the Giants eventually move on, the source material makes clear he would likely land elsewhere in the game, either as a coach or as a manager again.
For now, the message is simple: the Giants probably shouldn’t rush to decide they’ve seen everything Tony Vitello can do.
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