Buster

Posey

After a three-year stint in Texas, the 70-year-old Bochy is returning to the team he managed from 2007-19 and with which he won three World Series. He’ll have the same job title as Dusty Baker.

Vitello departs Tennessee with a 341-131 record and three College World Series trips in eight seasons. The 47-year-old has no professional experience as either a coach or player, making this one of the most fascinating managerial hires in memory. He was also very well compensated at Tennessee, so he’ll probably be earning more than many MLB managers right away.

As reported earlier, the Tennessee head coach has become the primary target for the Giants, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement. It’s possible that the Giants have made him an offer and he’s simply taking a day or two to mull it over. Stay tuned, as there could be a resolution here before the weekend is through.

It’s a surprising development, as Vitello’s name seems to have come completely out of left field. The Giants parted ways with veteran skipper Bob Melvin at the conclusion of the regular season and hadn’t been linked to any other big-name managerial candidates in recent weeks besides saying that former manager Bruce Bochy is not a candidate for the vacancy. Vitello guided the Volunteers to their first-ever national championship in 2024 and has been at the helm of the program since 2017.

That would seem to be for the best. Bochy, of course, won three World Series with the Giants during a 13-year tenure from 2007-19, but he’s 70 now, and the Giants need to try to find themselves their next Bochy.

Bumgarner hasn’t officially announced his retirement, but he also hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since a disastrous four-start stretch to open the 2023 season, which led to the Diamondbacks releasing him and eating the final $37 million left on his contract. The 35-year-old lefty cemented his legacy with the Giants earlier in his career as one of the legendary postseason performers of his era and appears likely to head back to the Bay Area in a limited role either as a guest instructor at spring training or front office consultant.

Posey takes over for Farhan Zaidi, who led the Giants to a sub-.500 record in five of the six seasons while he was at the helm. Posey was the face of the Giants franchise for years after he was drafted 5th overall in 2008. He was the 2012 NL MVP and a seven-time All-Star catcher, helped usher in the most successful era in Giants history He retired following the Giants’ remarkable 2021 season and joined the Giants’ ownership group in September 2022. “We are looking for someone who can define, direct and lead this franchise’s baseball philosophy and we feel that Buster is the perfect fit,” said Giants chairman Greg Johnson. “Buster has the demeanor, intelligence, and drive to do this job, and we are confident that he and Bob Melvin will work together to bring back winning baseball to San Francisco.”

The team had just extended Zaidi through 2026 after last season, which was surprising at the time since the Giants had been over .500 just once in his five-year tenure coming into this year. As it turns out, one more sub-.500 season was the last straw. Zaidi was hired away from the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2018 season and while his first year wasn’t tremendous, the Giants won a franchise-record 107 games in 2021. He drew some ire for his preference for intense platoons and the Giants’ inability to consistently land big-name free agents, but he was principally responsible for many shrewd signings, like acquiring Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., and Thairo Estrada for little-to-nothing. Sadly, those moves couldn’t push the Giants into playoff contention this season, and yet Zaidi still didn’t sell off many assets at the trade deadline, which led to more fan ire. The Giants will be switching gears pretty drastically by handing the reins over the Buster Posey, who was the franchise’s starting catcher for a long time and just recently retired. What his vision is for the team remains to be seen.

Posey had just a .688 OPS in 2019 and opted out of the truncated 2020 season before posting a .889 OPS with 18 home runs for the National League West-winning Giants in 2021. It turned out to be his final season, as the 34-year-old announced his retirement earlier this month.

He was the biggest slam-dunk winner during awards season. After missing the entire 2020 season following a stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis which required six months of chemotherapy, Mancini returned in 2021 to put up a .758 OPS with 21 home runs and 71 RBI for the Orioles.