Tony Vitello showing troubling trend with setting SF Giants lineup

Tony Vitello set the SF Giants lineup ahead of Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, and it was the same as it has been all been all season. This is a troubling trend, as he is not leveraging his bench.

Tony Vitello showing troubling trend with setting SF Giants lineup

As of Tuesday morning, Daniel Susac has only made one start. That said, it was a memorable one. 

Jerar Encarnación has gotten into a few games lately. However, that is only because Casey Schmitt has been sidelined with a back injury.

Jared Oliva and Christian Koss have not recorded an at-bat yet. The Giants are carrying Oliva for speed and defense, but primarily the former. 

The speedy outfielder earned a roster spot after stealing 14 bases in 15 tries during the Cactus League. Through nearly two weeks, he has appeared in just three games and tallied one steal. They have quickly established that they do not want Oliva taking any at-bats.

With the bench in the shape that it is in, there is something a little presumptuous about carrying a pinch runner when the rosters do not expand to 28 players until September. As if that was the last remaining need or role that the Giants had to fill with the bench.

The only local analogy I could come up with is it is like using a third-round pick to draft a kicker in the NFL. Sorry, Niners fans. Too soon?

On the other hand, Koss has not had an at-bat since the final exhibition game on March 24. The Giants will need to rely on him at some point this year, and if he is out of rhythm when that time comes, then whose fault is that? 

The versatile infielder may not offer much with the bat, but it makes no sense to not use him, especially since he excelled with runners in scoring position in 2025. He is also a quality defender, including at second base.

Is there no way to get Koss’ glove into the game when they have a handful of ground ball pitchers like Logan Webb, Landen Roupp, and Adrian Houser. It is just not fair to even have him on the roster.

It would be one thing if the Giants were on a roll. However, anyone who has watched the team at all this season can tell you that this could not be further from the truth.

In fairness to Tony Vitello, this is more of a roster construction issue. They have five players in the bench, and cannot play the matchups. There is just not much to leverage in the first place, but with the club off to an awful start, it would not hurt to mix it up.