SF Giants GM makes it crystal clear who will be in charge of the lineup in 2026

Seemingly with every new SF Giants managerial hire since Gabe Kapler, there is speculation about how much say the manager will have with lineup construction. Giants general manager Zack Minasian quelled any discussion of this after Tony Vitello's hiring.

Appearing on KNBR following Vitello's introductory presser, Minasian was asked whether Vitello will be the one writing the lineup every day and he made clear that the new skipper will be the one responsible for writing the lineup.

Minasian followed that up by saying: “Yeah. I just have too many other things to worry about, so. But like Buster said, we want to be here as a sounding board, we want to be here as counsel, we want to be here to help. Certainly, open to those conversations. I think things will evolve and we'll see how it works. But ultimately, we want to give the manager that type of autonomy.”

SF Giants GM Zack Minasian makes it clear Tony Vitello will write the lineup

In today's game where front offices have much more control and say over in-game decisions, it will always be a question of how much autonomy a manager has to set their own lineup.

This became a hot-button topic of conversation a few years ago when Giants legend Will Clark claimed that former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi would set lineups himself and overrule manager Bob Melvin.

Zaidi has refuted this claim, but the question really speaks to how much autonomy a front office is willing to entrust its manager. Surely, there will be collaboration between Vitello and the front office on the lineup. Arguably, there should be a lot of collaboration given Vitello is still getting up to speed with the roster and may take time to fully familiarize himself with the strengths and weaknesses of his players.

Still, it will be refreshing for some fans to hear an executive like Minasian express confidence in Vitello in this way. Certainly, as Vitello gets up to speed and surrounds himself with his coaching staff he will get a clearer picture of what lineup configurations will work best.

The bigger question may be what resources he will have at his disposal. Vitello remarked at his presser that San Francisco's roster is "pretty good" which could serve as a subtle catalyst to the front office to go out and get him some better players.

The offseason priority will certainly be pitching, but maybe the Giants will surprise people and add another big bat to a lineup that will be configured by Vitello.