MLB insider views 2026 as a make-or-break year for SF Giants and Buster Posey

Ever since SF Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey decided to fire manager Bob Melvin and bring in Tony Vitello from the collegiate ranks, it was clear that Posey was taking a huge risk. That's why it's not a shock that one MLB insider views 2026 as something of a make-or-break year for Posey and the Giants.

Robert Murray of FanSided highlighted Posey as one of the MLB decision-makers under the most pressure this season because of that big risk he took with Vitello, writing, "President Buster Posey, a franchise icon, went all-in on Vitello and believes in the first-year manager to lead the organization back to winning ways."

Posey's SF Giants under a lot of pressure in 2026

In many ways, Posey staked his reputation on the Vitello hire. He knew that because of the good will he has earned with the fanbase in San Francisco thanks to his heroics as a player that it would be easier for many to stomach a hire like this. Imagine Farhan Zaidi making a hire like this after letting go of Gabe Kapler. It would have been anarchy.

But the fact that Posey, and others like Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker, put a stamp of approval on Vitello calmed a lot of the jitters that came with hiring a manager who had never played or coached in professional baseball.

Of course, nothing anyone says or does will calm the chatter and overreactions after the team got off to a brutal start against the New York Yankees. Getting swept and scoring just one run in three games will press all sorts of panic buttons but it is obviously still so early.

One thing is clear, though: the honeymoon period is over for Vitello before it even began.

Whether that's fair or not, the Giants need to make the playoffs or at least show real improvement this season. If it's another year of mediocrity or if the team takes a step back and wins something in the neighborhood of 75 games then this experiment will be deemed a failure by many.

That does not necessarily mean the Giants will blow everything up if that happens. The Giants are probably not going to fire Posey or get rid of Vitello unless the team truly collapses, but you can bet that Posey's reputation will take a hit with the fanbase if things go south.

It's a long season and there will be plenty of ups and down. The Giants have started off on about as sour a note as possible but for Posey and Vitello's sake they have to hope the team can get things turned around otherwise fan discontent will reach a new level.