Buster Posey already put loads of his fingerprints on the San Francisco Giants as a participant for 12 seasons. Now, because the group’s president of baseball operations, the previous catcher is taking the franchise into unprecedented territory.
With Wednesday’s announcement that College of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello would be the subsequent supervisor of the Giants, Posey continues to indicate that he would not thoughts shaking issues up in San Francisco (or round Major League Baseball) and altering the look of the franchise.
Vitello’s entrance into the Giants’ clubhouse comes at an fascinating time within the Bay Space. It is a transfer that will have been seen as preposterous on July 1 when then-manager Bob Melvin had his contract option for 2026 put into place. With the Giants stunning baseball at 45-41 at that time, the extension was a little bit of an eyebrow-raiser, provided that the season hadn’t even reached the commerce deadline but.
It is also a transfer that was panned when the Giants performed under .500 the remainder of the way in which, ending at 81-81 and finally costing Melvin his job.
Posey’s willingness to carry Vitello on with none MLB expertise will likely be a transfer that will likely be graded as soon as the brand new season kicks in. Nonetheless, it continues a line of energy strikes from Posey displaying he is not afraid to strive new issues to get the Giants again to the highest of the Nationwide League.
Buster Posey has been aggressive in constructing the Giants roster
Earlier than the 2024 season, Posey inked shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million deal, representing the most important contract in Giants historical past (sarcastically passing the $167 million deal Posey signed to remain in San Francisco in 2013).
Signing Adames proved that the Giants may certainly land a giant free-agent identify after lacking out on Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Choose in previous pursuits. It additionally confirmed that San Francisco was prepared to spend to win, with the Adames deal coming not lengthy after third baseman Matt Chapman signed a six-year, $151 million extension in September.
It was additionally Posey who engineered one of the crucial surprising trades of final season, touchdown Rafael Devers from the Boston Purple Sox in mid-June. Signed by 2033, Devers joins Adames because the long-term faces of the franchise and hopefully as magnets that can draw different massive names to Oracle Park.
“We’re enthusiastic about including probably the greatest hitters in all of Main League Baseball to our lineup,” Posey said at the time of the trade. “We’re clearly taking up a variety of {dollars}, however there is a perception that including a man like this places us in a superb place to maintain profitable ballgames, get into the playoffs and attempt to win a World Collection, which is our final aim.”
Posey shouldn’t solely be credited for making the transfer to accumulate Devers, but in addition having the religion he would match into the spots the place he was wanted with the Giants, together with 28 video games at first base after he refused to play there whereas with the Purple Sox.
Since shifting into the staff president function on Sept. 30, 2024, Posey has now made three massive strikes which will have modified the trajectory for the Giants. Solely time will inform in the event that they lead to San Francisco regaining its place on the prime of MLB’s mountain of proficient groups.
