RUMORS & REPORTS: Giants have STARTED INTERVIEWING for the MANAGER position

RUMORS & REPORTS: Giants have STARTED INTERVIEWING for the MANAGER position

Manager interviews have started for your San Francisco Giants. Is Buster Posey to blame for this past season and other GMs who turned it around quickly? That’s all coming up on Locked on Giants. [Music] You are Locked on Giants, your daily San Francisco Giants podcast, part of the Locked On Network. Your team every day. Hello and welcome to Locked On Giants, part of the Locked On podcast network where it’s your team every single day. My name is Alen Salles. On the show, we provide daily episodes Monday through Friday talking about the San Francisco Giants in a way that provides passion, analytics with the eye test, and a little bit of fun. I’m from the Bay Area, but I live in Sacramento now, and I host a show on Sackown Sports 1140, the Alen South Show. Be sure to check that out. As well as mcing Sacramento Rivercats games. I’m lucky enough to cover a team I’ve been a fan of all my life. Today we are talking about the manager interviews that have started for the San Francisco Giants. Is Buster Posey to blame for the Giants missing the playoffs and examples of other GMs and presidents of baseball operations that turned it around quickly? Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. download the app today. So, hot off the press. Okay, this is from Susan Sleser or this is from an article that Susan Sleser put out there. I’m not just uh giving you the exact article, but a breakdown of my understanding based on what she said. The Giants managerial search is beginning to take on a very familiar look and that’s because of what many people are calling the vote effect. talking about Steven Vote. In just his first season as manager of the Cleveland Guardians, he helped lead them to a surprising playoff birth. That early success has caught the attention of teams all around the league, including the Giants, who are now closely looking at candidates that have a catcher background. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, former big league catchers like Kurt Suzuki, Nick Hunley, Craig Alberz, and Kurt Casali are all on the Giants radar. Suzuki interviewed today. That’s the big news. Kurt Suzuki or we believe it is Kurt Suzuki based on the breadcrumbs that Susan Sleser has left us that Kurt Suzuki has interviewed today and others could follow as well. Let’s not forget that man helping sear the ship behind the scenes. Buster Posey is of course a former catcher and as part of the ownership group and front office, he’s been one of the loudest voices emphasizing leadership, communication and trust between the dugout and the clubhouse. So why catchers? There’s a long history when it comes to catchers and the manager, the skipper position. Catchers spend their entire careers managing pitchers, studying hitters, and essentially serving as field generals. They can see the whole thing from their vantage point. They’re used to balancing personalities, game situations, and strategy in real time. It’s no coincidence that guys like Bruce Bochi, Mike Shosa, and Joe Gerardi all came from a catcher spot and went on to have strong managerial careers. For the Giants, this approach feels intentional. They’re not just looking for someone with X’s and O’s knowledge. They want someone who can connect with players, build trust, and carry the type of calm presence that Posie himself was known for. In other words, the Giants don’t want just a strategist. They want someone that can come in and handle the human side of baseball as well. And I just want to say that we had this discussion earlier uh this week where I said Buster seems too open about this. Yeah, we’re we’re open to anything. You don’t have to have managerial experience. You don’t have to have this. You don’t have to have that. And I said, I really hope Buster’s just saying that out loud. And they actually do have a plan because, and I use the example of my sister auditioning for different roles in TV and movies. When you don’t have a plan, it’s kind of harder to find what you want. Turns out that’s exactly what Buster was doing. I believe that Buster always knew they were looking for a former catcher. Not to say that they’re specifically only going to hire a former catcher, but Buster had a plan as to what he knew just at that time during the press conference. He didn’t feel like he had to say that out loud. The real question now is whether this narrow focus is the right move. Is leading so heavily into the catcher pipeline a smart play or should the Giants consider a wider range of baseball thinkers? So, uh, with all of that being said, I believe that Buster is going about it the right way. And ultimately for me, I don’t know that it’s about what I want. I’m more so excited about the process. I’m more so excited about Buster knowing what he wants. There’s some names out there that I like, and I’ve said that before, and you know, the Skip Shoemachers of the world. Maybe they’ll be available, maybe they won’t. But it’s more important to me that Buster knows what he wants. And if he’s going to miss on this, he is going to miss getting exactly what he thought the Giants needed. Now hopefully they don’t miss. Hopefully things work out for the Giants and we get another three parades in five years just like when Buster was the catcher here. It might be tough, but maybe that’ll be the case. But ultimately for me, I’m excited that Buster knows what he wants and he’s going out and he’s going to get it. And there’s a pretty wide range, right? All the names that I that I said, Kurt Suzuki apparently was interviewed today. There’s Craig Alberaz and he’s connected to Stephen Vote out there with the Guardian. So, a lot of different options. The pool seems pretty big. And as I’ve said before, do not sleep on the Giants and their brand, right? They have a big brand when it comes to Major League Baseball. And everybody knows that. There’s the Mets, the Phillies, the Yankees, of course, the Dodgers, all those teams. the the Giants are right there. I was arguing with my buddy about the Braves and and some other teams earlier this week, but they’re right there and Buster knows that and he’s going to use it to his advantage. So, that was the big report today that came out earlier. If you haven’t seen it, the word on the street is that interviews have started and Curt Suzuki got the first call. When I initially read it, I thought it might have been Craig Albernaz. And I think the plan is for the Giants to ask permission from the Guardians if they can interview Albernaz and he may be the next guy on that list where those priorities are and and what the hierarchy is as far as what Buster wants or know who’s number one on his list. I actually don’t know that Buster has that yet. I think he knows the type of guy that he wants. pretty sure that he wants a catcher. And then from there, he’ll see who is a fit with the X’s and O’s, who’s a fit for their philosophy, who’s a culture fit, all those types of things. And I do trust Buster to make the right decision. Now, when I say make the right decision, as I joke, I don’t know that that’s going to end in three championships in 5 years. It would be nice, but I don’t know if that’s going to be the case. As long as Buster feels like he is do going about this the right way, has somebody that he believes is going to be a solid solid fit for the Giants, that’s the most important thing to me because right now it’s still in Buster we trust. And as I say in Buster we trust, that is a great way to kick off the next segment. How much blame should Buster get for this last season missing the playoffs? Some of you out there already think Buster should be on some type of hot seat. Do I agree? Do I disagree? We’ll give some pros and cons. Don’t move. More Locked on Giants coming up. This episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. Every day we make decisions, but on Prize Picks, being right can actually get you paid. Don’t miss the excitement of football season with Prize Pick, where it’s good to be right. Playing Prize Picks is fun, and it’s a simple way to add more excitement to football. 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Derer just opened a store right here in Hayes Valley so you can feel the difference firsthand. Go check them out at 567 Hay Street. Mention our promo code locked on SF in store to get 15% off your first order. Or check them out online at shopdue.com/locktonsf for 15% off. That’s shopder.com/lockedonsf. Okay, it’s time to talk about some Buster blame. It’s been just one full season for Buster Posey as he moved from the field to the front office. And some fans are already unsure if he’s the right person for the job. Some are even calling for his job. What are we doing, people? It’s been a very short period of time. The Giants went 81 and 81. They missed the postseason. And trust me, I was upset just like everyone else has been and was and is. I get it. Ultimately, they fired Bob Melvin. And in that context, it’s fair to ask how much of this failure is on Buster Posey. So here’s the argument for substantial accountability. Roster constructions, and vision risks. As president of baseball operations, Posy’s fingerprints are on every major roster move. His decision-making, trades, free agent signings, contract extensions set the framework the managers then have to work within. The acquisition of Rafy Debors was widely praised, but post trade the team absolutely unraveled. The Giants went 40 and 50 after June 15th. The collapses raises raised questions about whether the supporting pieces were overestimated or underbuilt. And I’ll never forget it was right around the trade deadline or or it was right around Allstar when Buster was talking about deciding to make that move. He said that the team earned it. I’ll never forget that those words. He said the team earned it for them to go out and make a real aggressive play to go get one Rafie Des. They earned it and they thought that they found lightning in a bottle and they really wanted to see if they could make it work. Ultimately they didn’t. But Buster was trying to help the team because he said, “Hey, we’re ahead of schedule now. Let’s do something with it.” The different mid-season moves and identity gambits. Posey didn’t shy away from making big moves. He extended Melvin’s option mid-season. Then he reversed that decision three months later, a high-risisk maneuver that left little margin for error. He sold off the veterans like Tyler Rogers and tried to load up the farm, which I think was the right thing to do. And he just got kind of caught between different decisions. I don’t know how often a team goes quote unquote allin, then later because they went all in so early, then later ends up selling at the deadline. And part of that is because of the drama, for lack of a better term, that was going on with uh with Rafie Divers and the Red Sox. Buster saw an opportunity and it was more so about are you willing to pay Raphael Devers versus what they had to give up. No disrespect to Kyle Harrison. The ownership and payroll authority. Posey also holds power over budgets, payroll decisions. He said that ownership is committed to putting a winning group of players on the field, indicating that the $178 million payroll could even expand uh next year since he controls the purse strings. We believe he must also bear the responsibility for underinvestment in key positions like the bullpen and that right field outfield depth as well. The public acceptance of responsibility. I think Buster has been very good at that. uh he has been open about the criticism. He said, “If anybody deserves any blame from the top, uh it should be me. I’m the one who sets the roster.” And what’s funny that he said that when the Giants were kind of in the midst of their tough stretch, what it’s funny that he said that and then fired Bob Melvin, right? Because he said that when the Giants were in the throws of it, I think it was around halfway through the year or when the slide started. It was definitely before the the 1901 comparisons or whatever it was when they were just a nightmare at home for that home stand. But Buster said that then proceeded to fire Bob Melvin. And as everyone knows, I was not a huge Bob Melvin fan anyway when they hired Bob Melvin. But it is funny that Buster said I should take the blame, but then they did move on from Bob Melvin. So I guess he’s saying I should take the blame, but there’s certain things that Bob Melvin could have done as well. So, here are some arguments saying that this shouldn’t really be on Buster Posey. One year, as I continue to say, tiny, tiny sample size. It’s hardly definitive, especially in baseball with injuries. Any bad luck can derail the best laid plans. Buster inherited a club that had a lot of different moving parts. He had to turn around a roster that really was stuck in the middle, and he did that fairly quickly. Spent some money, but he did that fairly quickly. And and I think if you look at the lineups, the Giants lineup outside of the even including the top of the rotation, it’s still I mean better than when you look at it and maybe this is why Bob Melvin doesn’t have a job anymore, at least not with the San Francisco Giants. When you look at it, I think that’s a top 12 lineup. It’s that simple, right? 12 teams make the playoffs. I think it’s a top 12 lineup in Major League Baseball. So now Buster just has to fill in the the other cracks. And it was not a top 12 lineup in years past. It definitely wasn’t a top 12 lineup the last time they went to the playoffs with Gabe Kappler. So Buster has tried to get this team on the right path and do things that we haven’t seen the last couple years. And really the player performance and breakdown beyond control. Some of the failures were just outside of Buster Posy’s direct control. The bullpen crumbling, the defense, and again this goes back to Bob Melvin now. the outfield defense was terrible and you’re stuck because Elliot Ramos was coming off an All-Star season. You had you you had to go with Elliot Ram. You had to you literally had to. So, you have that situation there and ultimately the guys just weren’t taking care of business. You paid these guys big money. When Chapman was hitting, Willie Adamus wasn’t hitting. When Rafie Des was hitting, Chapman wasn’t hitting. They just couldn’t get on the same page. the Jan Hulie move, things like that. It just didn’t it didn’t really gel enough clearly. And the support for bold moves, the devil’s trade and efforts to build a new core showed a willingness to swing rather than default to just the the same little moves that they’ve always done. So, I like that ambition and the opportunity cost of not making bold moves is often mediocrity by default. So, he deserves some blame. But I don’t think he deserves as much blame as some Giants fans are trying to put on him already. If you don’t think Buster ever should have been hired, then that’s a different conversation. But if you were okay with Buster being hired and you thought that Buster Posey was going to bring something new and fresh to I think everybody was pretty much okay with moving on from Farhan, but if you thought that the Giant should go somewhere else instead of Buster Posey and now on top of that Buster has I don’t know about struggle but he’s made some big moves then you have to kind of evaluate where all that lies here. Here’s the one thing and I and I got a thought as I was talking so I wanted to address that as well. Here is the one thing and the biggest argument I have heard for not being a fan of Buster Posy’s moves. If you don’t think Matt Chapman deserved a big contract, then you wouldn’t be a fan of giving him that new contract at at he’s going to be what mid30s by the time that’s older. Maybe older than that actually. I think it might be 36, 37. So there you go. The William Thomas deal. If you think William Thomas is overpaid, then you might not be happy with Bus Posi. Basically, if you don’t think this core is good enough and you’re saying, Allan, I don’t think they’re a top 12 lineup in Major League Baseball, then you’re probably the person that’s not thrilled with Buster Posey right now because he is making moves. If you don’t think that he’s bringing in the right type of guys, then I could understand it. I would still and and I would say I understand why you don’t care that it’s only been a year cuz these dudes are under contract for years and you brought in Rafie Devers who nobody’s going to argue that he’s not a top 50 player in the league right now. But a lot of people thought it was a bit of an overpay just to take on that contract for the next 10 years or whatever it is. So that’s probably the most fair argument. If you think they overpaid for their big money guys and you believe they could have went a different direction, I hear you. My argument to that would be that that farm system was such a disaster the Giants didn’t really have a choice or they were going to continue to lose games. It’s one thing if you were the Astros who just kept stinking and then all of a sudden you have a bunch of top picks and they start to hit. It’s one thing if you’re in that situation. The Giants had the 28th ranked farm system. So, if you didn’t pay for somebody and you can argue, hey, well, they should have got this guy instead of Willie Adamis or that guy instead of Chapman, which you can do, but they had to spend money and get someone and it’s really hard to find a perfect player, right? And obviously the Brewers did really well with that Willie Adamis this season. That’s not to say that it was a a bad move to sign Willie Adamis. They just have a good, you know, situation and good farm system and they continue to crank out more and more players. The Red Sox, the Red Sox have so many young players that just popped up on the scene. So, they said, “We’re going to move on from Robbie Devers.” Now, the we’ll see what happens with the Brewers, but the Red Sox lost in the wild card and nobody really expected them to do much. And yeah, they got to the playoffs and the Giants didn’t, but you were going to have to pay for someone because the farm system wasn’t good. And we don’t want to sit here and watch a bad product. and Buster refused to watch a bad product. We’ll see how these contracts go. The good thing about baseball is that all these contracts are are pretty ridiculous. So, you never know. There might be a taker at some point if any of these newer guys that are coming up in the farm system really do hit how the the Giants can move off of some of the older guys. I know it’s sticky, but it’s happened before. But I would say that person that is critical of Buster Posey, that’s the one thing to be critical of him about. I don’t like how he has spent the money so far. I don’t think Willie Adams is worth it. I don’t think Matt Chapman is worth it. And I don’t think Rafi Des is worth it. Or maybe a a combination of those guys. Let’s talk about some GMs that were able and some presidents of baseball operations that were able to turn it around quickly to close out the show. More Locked on Giants coming up. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. What I love about FanDuel is the fact that it gives you so many ways to play. I’ve bid parlays, tried player props, and even followed the live lines during games. It makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. So, now let’s discuss GMs and presidents of baseball operations who did turn it around quickly. And I’ll put it to you like this. It’s not a lot, especially when you boil it down to one year. You know, a lot of times when a new GM or president of Basil operations comes in, we’re told to be patient. It’s a process. The farm system needs to be built or rebuilt. It might take years before we see those results. And that’s true in most cases, but there are a handful of examples in Major League Baseball where a front office change paid off immediately, where a new GM came in and the very next year they got to the playoffs and beyond. Let’s take Dave Donrowski and the Phillies. He took over December 2020 and by his first full season in 2022. Philadelphia was not only back in the postseason for the first time in over a decade, they went all the way to the World Series. He made aggressive moves like bringing in Kyle Schwarber who’s been just a ridiculous get by the way. Nick Casianos and tighten up that bullpen. That is a quick turnaround. Another great example of this, Alex Anthropalus with the Braves. hired in November 2017 and by 2018 Atlanta won the NL East after missing the playoffs in four straight years. He leaned on young talent like Ronald Akuna Jr., Aussie Alb’s and made some savvy veteran additions to stabilize the roster as well. out in the west. Yes, the the Smurfs and they got so much money I don’t even know how to count them. But Andrew uh Friedman with the Dodgers stepped in from Tampa Bay in 2014. In his very first year, 2015, the Dodgers won 92 games and the NL West. He didn’t blow things up, but he brought a completely different philosophy to roster depth, versatility, and player development. They were very, very big on getting guys that can play multiple positions. As much as it pains me to say, I do find the Dodgers to be one of the captains of the what I like to call positionless baseball. As you can see, you have Mukie Betts who was an allstar gold glove right fielder and now he is a gold glove shortstop. They and the Chris Taylor of the world, Kik Hernandez, they were the catalyst for that positionless baseball and moving guys around, not just outfield to outfield, but outfield to infield and doing a lot of different things. Let’s not forget Mike Hazen with the Diamondbacks. He came over in October in 2016 in his first season 2017. Arizona jumped from 69 wins to 93 wins, clinching a wild card spot. He made smart trades, shored up the pitching staff, and got instant results. So, it is pretty rare to see immediate payoff from a GM hire or president hire, but these four right here, they were able to to pull it off. And they are proof that if you get the right person in charge, you don’t always have to wait years and years and years to feel their their impact. And with that being said, I think that Buster is on the right track. Just to give my my actual thoughts on it, I think Buster is going about it the right way. I do think they have a top 12 lineup. they have a good enough lineup to be in the playoffs. Do I think they have a good enough lineup? And that’s the thing in baseball. If you have a good enough lineup to be in the playoffs, you have a good enough lineup to be in the World Series. It’s not the same as other sports to me. You can make the playoffs in basketball and everybody, especially now with the playin and everybody knows you have absolutely no chance to win the whole thing. Football, they’re oneoff games, so you never know any given Sunday as the saying goes. So, you never really know in football, but it it is it’s had it’s been a long time since a wild card uh won the Super Bowl. I will say that. But in baseball, if you get into that 12 team tournament, anything can happen. And Giants fans better than anyone else almost of of any other team, a fan of any other team. They know that because so many things can change. So many things can happen. You get that hot team in there. Look at the Diamondbacks. I know they didn’t win the whole thing, but the Diamondbacks had no business being in the World Series a couple years ago. They were there. The Giants, I do think people sleep on how good the Giants were, but in reality, they weren’t the number one pick to go to the World Series in those three years, and they they didn’t maybe come out of left field, but nobody was really uh looking at the Giants as the favorite as well, but they knew they had solid pitching and and some good talent in the field also. So, it can happen. I think that Buster’s on the right track. I like who he’s interviewed so far. If, as the saying goes, if you like it, I love it, Buster. I I think that you can interview some guys that aren’t former catchers, but like I said, if this is your plan, if this is what you think the team needs and the direction you want to go, then I’m all for it. Thank you for listening to Locked On Giants, be sure to follow me on social media at the_styles Styles with an I. Also, be sure to follow our official account, Locked On Giants, on social media. Thank you so much for making Locked On Giants your first listen every day. For your second listen, listen to All Night Locked on MLB Game Night. Every game, every night until the World Series champion is crowned, get local analysis on a national scale. Find MLB Game Night on Locked on MLB or wherever you listen to podcast. Have a great weekend. If you’re listening to this during your weekend, I hope you are enjoying your weekend. We will talk to you on Monday. Until then, peace.

Report is that manager interviews have started and it is rumored they’ve already met with Kurt Suzuki. We dive into the Giants’ search for a new manager, the rise of the “Vogt Effect,” and why so many former catchers are in the mix. Plus, with Buster Posey now one year into his front-office tenure, fans are asking: how much blame falls on him? We break down Posey’s roster decisions, payroll strategy, and leadership style — and weigh whether this season’s failure is on him, or if he deserves more time. We also look at examples of other GMs who turned their teams around quickly, and whether Posey can follow that path.

0:00 Interviews have started
10:13 Buster Blame
21:22 GMs who turned it around quickly

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