SF Giants must sign veteran Blue Jays hurler to get buy-in after Tony Vitello hire

The SF Giants have officially hired Tony Vitello as their next manager. He brings no experience in professional baseball to the table which is why it would help a lot if the Giants sign Max Scherzer this offseason.

Scherzer and Vitello have a long friendship dating back to when Scherzer was in college at the University of Missouri and Vitello was an assistant coach.

SF Giants must sign Max Scherzer to get veteran buy-in after Tony Vitello hire

When asked about the prospect of Vitello becoming a big league manager, Scherzer was effusive in his praise: "He makes you want to run through a brick wall for him. He was perfect for me when I was in college...He’s to this day one of my closest friends and I absolutely believe he’s gonna get it done at the big league level."

Scherzer brushed off concerns about getting players to buy in because he believes Vitello's intensity and ability to relate to players will get people on board. However, it would still be nice to have a guy like Scherzer in the clubhouse to quell any concerns veterans might have about him.

Young players with a connection to Vitello like Drew Gilbert will obviously be thrilled having Vitello as the manager, but there could be some veterans like Matt Chapman, who was close with Vitello's predecessor Bob Melvin, who could potentially be a little more wary of a new manager with no major league experience.

Bringing Scherzer into the fold would not only guarantee buy-in from anyone on the fence about Vitello in the clubhouse, but it would also fill a need for the team in their starting rotation.

Scherzer did not have a great regular season for Toronto in 2025 as he had a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts, but he could still have a little gas left in the tank and would make sense on an affordable one-year deal to be the team's fifth starter.

We have seen Scherzer's fire and intensity on the mound this postseason for the Toronto Blue Jays as he delivered a gritty performance in the ALCS. The desire to win is still there and it seems like a great opportunity for him to come to a pitcher-friendly park in San Francisco where he could reunite with a manager he is really close with while also lending more legitimacy to Vitello.

Perhaps Scherzer is right that Vitello can get that buy-in just by himself, but it certainly would not hurt having a proven veteran pitcher on the team who could really reinforce that buy-in.