Tony Vitello is already tempering expectations for the 2026 SF Giants

It is almost February and arguably the two biggest moves the SF Giants have made this offseason were to hire Tony Vitello as manager and purchase the historic Curran Theatre. Time is running out for San Francisco to make a big move.

Vitello has his work cut out for him in his first season as a big league manager. The Giants came into the offseason with several clear holes to address and while they have addressed some of them, it is difficult to see how the Giants can be truly competitive in 2026 without some things going their way.

In a recent appearance on KNBR, Vitello seemed to subtly acknowledge that the Giants may not be the most talented team heading into next season, but he wants them to fight hard.

Tony Vitello wants SF Giants to be a tough team to play in 2026

Vitello talked about how he wants the Giants to be a team that is not seen as a soft spot in the schedule for opponents. He said, "I do think you want to be known as a team that, it's not very comfortable to play these guys. Even when we beat them, it doesn't come easy."

Maybe that's the best the Giants can hope for in 2026 especially against teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers where there is such a clear disparity in talent between the two rosters.

It is fair to wonder whether the Giants are treating 2026 as a gap year of sorts. They added Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle to address the rotation. Two sensible if not terribly inspiring additions, but the Giants have not added a true impact player who could help them be more competitive in a tough NL West.

Maybe the huge trade for Rafael Devers was their big offseason acquisition, but we saw how the team struggled to find its stride after that move so it's clear adding Devers was not some sort of panacea that would solve all the team's problems.

Perhaps the plan from Buster Posey and Zack Minasian given the team's self-imposed financial limits is for Vitello to come in and change the culture in 2026 and then go out and add better players in future offseasons if it seems like he has gotten buy-in from the players.

Of course, it can be tough to get buy-in if a team is not winning, but it is really tough to expect the Giants to do a whole lot given the roster has not improved in a meaningful enough way.

Vitello probably wishes the Giants would go out and make another move or two, but if that is not in the cards then maybe fighting hard is the best that can be hoped for.