What the SF Giants will likely do with Tony Vitello at the end of the season

Tony Vitello is here to stay for now, but there will likely be a catch. Buster Posey told John Shea of The San Francisco Standard that Vitello will be back in 2027.

That is not too surprising to hear from Posey, even in the context of a disastrous season. He has been complimentary of the rookie manager throughout the season.

Posey also will not publicly express even a hint of a vote of no confidence to the media. He says that Vitello will be back, and there is no reason to expect anything less.

After all, the Giants do not want to be in a position where they go to a third manager in as many years. For an organization that was once known for stability and continuity, those traits have disappeared in recent years.

The SF Giants will likely influence changes to Tony Vitello’s coaching staff

Plus, the Giants are paying a lot of money to managers this year. They are not only paying Bob Melvin’s salary after picking up his club option, but they are on the hook for Vitello’s salary and buyout from the University of Tennessee. That total is in the neighborhood of $10 million. These are sunk costs, so they should not influence future decisions, but the optics of moving on to another manager after investing so into that position would not be great.

If Posey is to be taken at his word, then Vitello will be back. The front office still has some levers it can pull to inspire change. Those levers shift from the manager to the coaching staff.

The Giants changed out the coaching staff in the offseason following the hire of Vitello. While they have added plenty of much-needed new voices, they are still getting similar results. Baserunning gaffes, defenders throwing to the wrong base or not knowing how many outs there are, or an extremely poor approach at the plate all reflect poorly of the coaching staff.

Unfortunately, this should lead to changes again in the offseason. The tenure of a major league coach is often short, with teams switching out coaches every season. That is just the nature of the game.

If the Giants make changes to the coaching staff, our own Nick San Miguel highlighted coaches who could be on the move. In particular, the pitching side led by Frank Anderson could be the most vulnerable to change. Anderson, Justin Meccage, and Christian Wonders head that unit.

The results have not been there for a team that believes its identity is built around pitching and defense. They are walking far too many hitters to lead off the inning or when a reliever comes in. It is just not a good reflection of the coaching staff, whether fair or not.

At 3.8 BB/9, the Giants’ pitching staff has one of the highest walk rates in baseball. That would be more tolerable with higher strikeout totals, but they also have one of the lowest strikeout rates (7.7 K/9) in baseball.

The coaching staff cannot make the pitchers throw strikes, but given all the struggles the pitching staff has endured this year, it would make sense to mix it up to try to get better results.

Shaking up the coaching staff is often a precursor to larger changes. For managers, that is typically a sign that their seat is starting to warm up. Tony Vitello is not on the hot seat at the moment but if they make changes to the coaching staff and still struggle to get better results next season, that should change.

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