Once known for their stability on the top step of the dugout, the Giants now will embark on a search for a new manager for the second time in 25 months. 

Manager Bob Melvin was let go on Monday morning, ending his run with his hometown organization after two mediocre seasons. The decision came about three months after president of baseball operations Buster Posey picked up Melvin’s option for the 2026 MLB season, a move that was popular in the clubhouse but did nothing to jolt a slumping team.

“After careful evaluation, we determined that making a change in leadership was in the best interest of the team,” Posey said in a statement. “The last couple of months have been both disappointing and frustrating for all of us, and we did not perform up to our standards. We now turn our focus to identifying a new leader to guide us forward.”

After Posey’s decision in July, the Giants went into yet another second-half collapse. They lost six straight ahead of the MLB trade deadline, pushing Posey to sell. At one point, the Giants lost 15 of 16 games at Oracle Park, a historically-bad run that cut into the attendance and enthusiasm gains they had seen in the first half. 

That stretch brought up new questions about Melvin’s job security, but the Giants briefly righted the ship in late August and early September, only to once again fall apart after moving into a tie for the final postseason spot. They were eliminated on Tuesday night and finished 81-81 after going 80-82 in Melvin’s first season.

For the 63-year-old, this could be the end of the road. A Palo Alto native who played for the Giants in the 1980s, Melvin viewed this as a dream job. He had hoped this would be his final big league stop, although that might change given the way it ended. Melvin previously managed in Seattle, Oakland, Arizona and San Diego.

The Giants brought Melvin up the coast after firing Gabe Kapler at the end of the 2023 season. In just about every way, Melvin stood as the opposite of Kapler, and his hire generally was met with solid reviews. 

In two years, he has had the backing of his players, particularly Matt Chapman, who played for Melvin in Oakland and has said he is a major reason why he signed a long-term deal with the Giants. Players who spoke about Melvin this past week said they hoped to see him back in 2026, noting he wasn’t the reason the season fell apart. Posey himself said the same three months ago. 

On July 1, after losing six of seven, Posey picked up Melvin’s option for next season. He said that day that he had spent months watching the manager and did not make the decision hastily. Posey said the team’s failures were on his shoulders, as well as a talented roster that was underperforming. 

“From my perspective, and also my perspective as a player, sometimes when you’re going through a rough patch there’s a tendency to want to point the finger at coaches, and ultimately I believe we have great players, and I still believe in that group of players, but it boils down to them needing to play better baseball,” Posey said back then. “If anybody deserves any blame from the top it should be on me, it shouldn’t be on the manager or coaching staff. I’m the one who sets the roster. I felt like, with all those things considered, this was a good time for me to show my belief in Bob and this coaching staff.”

Chapman and Logan Webb were among the players who said that day that they agreed with the decision, but the Giants continued their freefall. They were 11 games over .500 when Posey traded for Rafael Devers and five over when he said Melvin would be back in 2026, but ended up missing the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years.

Heading into his second offseason in charge of baseball operations, Posey now will lead a managerial search, and he has to get it right. The Giants have a roster of highly-compensated players in their prime, and everyone involved is sick of finishing around .500. 

There are sure to be Bruce Bochy rumors, although that seems an unlikely path for many reasons, most notably the fact that Bochy currently is managing elsewhere and might be headed back to retirement. This is a chance for Posey to pick a long-term leader for the clubhouse and partner for the front office. It might be the most important decision he makes as president of baseball operations, but it’s also one he never imagined having to think about in October 2025. 

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