San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey provided an update on manager Tony Vitello’s future with the team.
The Giants have suffered through an extremely disappointing campaign in 2026, with a 56-81 record so far and a fourth-place standing in the National League East, only ahead of the hapless Colorado Rockies.
Vitello, who is in his first year of MLB managing after leading the University of Tennessee for the major leagues, has also been criticized for his managing style along the way
Yes, despite that, Posey says he will be back in 2027.
Tony Vitello Will Be Back in SF, Says Buster Posey
Speaking to Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle, Posey confirmed that Vitello will be back next season as the Giants‘ bench boss, “explicitly” telling the manager that he is welcome back, though Vitello will ultimately make the call.
“Obviously, he’s his own man. I haven’t felt once in any conversation that we’ve had that there’s any thoughts about jumping ship. All of our conversations are future-oriented, like, ‘What do we have to do to get this right?’ So if he wasn’t (returning) it would come as a surprise to me,” Posey said.
Vitello still has two more years left on his contract, paying him $3.5 million per season for the next two seasons, plus a vesting option for 2029 that will vest if the Giants make the postseason in 2028.
As the SF Chronicle notes, the money doesn’t necessarily mean that Vitello will stay in SF — he was bought out of his contract with the Tennessee Volunteers when the Giants paid $3 million to do so.
But either way, Posey says that he will be back in Giants gear next season.
Buster Posey Praises Tony Vitello
Despite the Giants’ down year in 2026, Posey had nothing but good things to say about Vitello.
“I’ll speak for myself. I think the coaching staff’s done a nice job. It’s always a hard thing because people are like, ‘Well, you’re 25-games or whatever under, how can you say they did a nice job?’ But I’m watching them every day and the work that they’re putting in, some of the improvements that (players) are making; from my vantage point, they’ve done a nice job. Ultimately, my belief is you leave it up to the manager to set it how he wants to set it. Those are conversations that we’ll have with Tony for the remainder of the year and into the offseason,” Posey said.
It will be interesting to hear how Giants fans react to this news about Vitello returning, given how disappointing a season it has been for San Francisco.
It’s not completely Vitello’s fault that the team has played as poorly as it has, and if anything, you can blame Posey and the team’s management group for putting together a flawed baseball roster.
But at the same time, Vitello hasn’t exactly helped, so although Posey is understandably sticking by his man, it’s not likely going to appease Giants fans, who expected far better from their baseball team this season.
Buster Posey Provides Update on Tony Vitello’s Giants Future