Why SF Giants getting rid of Bob Melvin could backfire in a big way

The SF Giants did not reach the playoffs, and it is understandable that the season turned out to be a disappointment given how well the team played early in the season and the expectations that came with adding Rafael Devers.

However, the Giants might have made a mistake by letting go of manager Bob Melvin.

SF Giants erred by getting rid of manager Bob Melvin

San Francisco poached Melvin from their division rivals in San Diego just two years ago. They gave Melvin two seasons to take a middling, average team and turn them into a contender. While Melvin failed, it feels like he was set up for failure from the start.

In arguably the best division in the league, San Francisco had the fourth best roster. When they brought in Melvin, the Dodgers had won yet another division title, the Diamondbacks were in the World Series, and the Padres were a team packed with star power up and down the roster.

Melvin took the Giants' mediocre, fourth-place roster, and won 80 games, one more than the Giants won in 2023 with Gabe Kapler at the helm. In 2025, he won 81 games, another one game improvement.

Obviously, that's not a good enough improvement. But again, it's not like the Giants roster was ready to win when he arrived in San Francisco.

Melvin has been through hard times before. In Arizona, he won 77 and 76 games in his first two seasons before leading the team to a 90-win season in his third year with the team. Similarly, in Oakland, Melvin endured three straight losing seasons from 2015 to 2017. He broke the team out of their slump in 2018, leading them on back-to-back 97-win seasons in 2018 and 2019.

It is quite possible Melvin would have been able to find a similar improvement in year three with the Giants, but San Francisco is not going to give him the opportunity to do so. Instead, Melvin is out, and the Giants will need to reset with a new manager again in 2026.

Of course, there is a chance the Giants upgrade at manager, but there's also a chance they don't. If the team hires an inexperienced manager, they might be setting themselves up for yet another rebuild year in 2026. They could aim for Bruce Bochy, who is leaving the Texas Rangers, but at this point, can they trust the 70-year-old?

Of course, we hope the Giants are proven correct in their decision to move off Melvin. But there's a chance this decision could backfire, and the team could regress in 2026.

More from Around the Foghorn: