Tony Vitello’s first season with the Giants may be rough, but it doesn’t sound like it’s leading to a quick exit.
Buster Posey told John Shea of The San Francisco Standard that Vitello will be back in 2027, and that lines up with the tone Posey has carried all season. He’s stayed publicly supportive of the rookie manager, and there’s little reason to think he’d suddenly pivot to a message of doubt now.
There’s also a practical layer here. The Giants would rather not find themselves changing managers for a third straight year. That kind of turnover has chipped away at the stability the organization used to be known for.
Money is part of the picture, too. The Giants are already carrying Bob Melvin’s salary after picking up his club option, and they’re also on the hook for Vitello’s salary and his buyout from the University of Tennessee.
That bill sits in the neighborhood of $10 million. Those are sunk costs, and they shouldn’t drive baseball decisions, but another managerial reset after that kind of investment would look awkward.
So if Vitello is staying, where can the Giants create change? The answer is probably the coaching staff.
The club overhauled that group after hiring Vitello, and there are new voices in the room. But the results have not changed enough. The same ugly issues keep showing up: baserunning mistakes, defenders throwing to the wrong base or not knowing how many outs there are, and an approach at the plate that has been far too poor.
That’s why another round of coaching changes feels possible this offseason. It’s common in the majors for coaches to turn over quickly, even from year to year.
If the Giants do start moving pieces around, the pitching side may be the place to watch first. Frank Anderson, along with Justin Meccage and Christian Wonders, leads that group, and it could be the most vulnerable.
That’s because the pitching results simply haven’t matched what this team says it wants to be. The Giants want their identity built on pitching and defense, but they’ve been giving away too many free passes, especially when an inning starts or when a reliever comes in.
The numbers back that up. The Giants are at 3.8 BB/9, one of the highest walk rates in baseball, and they’re also near the bottom with a 7.7 K/9 strikeout rate.
No coach can just command pitchers to throw strikes. But after a season full of pitching problems, it would make sense for the Giants to shake things up and see if different voices produce better results.
That kind of move can be the first step toward something bigger. For managers, it often means the heat is rising. Vitello isn’t there right now, but if the Giants change the staff and the same problems still hang around next season, that conversation could change fast.
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