{"id":579093,"date":"2026-02-18T10:57:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/579093\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T10:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:57:02","slug":"buster-posey-on-tony-vitello-challenging-the-dodgers-and-taking-big-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/579093\/","title":{"rendered":"Buster Posey on Tony Vitello, challenging the Dodgers, and taking big risks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the <\/a>Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the \u201cSection 415″ podcast <\/a>wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Buster Posey has beaten the Dodgers before and he\u2019s quite sure that he shouldn\u2019t stop believing he can do it now.<\/p>\n

Of course, he\u2019s also fully aware of this moment \u2014 it\u2019s not 2010, 2012, 2014, or even 2021, anymore. As president of the Giants, Posey can\u2019t beat the Dodgers\u2019 spending power, their ability to attract superstars, their canny aggression, or their current run of back-to-back World Series titles.<\/p>\n

But his point these days, as the Giants enter their second week of spring training in Arizona in Posey\u2019s second season running the show, is that the Dodgers\u2019 way isn\u2019t the only path to championships. And that the 2026 Giants are positioned to find their own way, which feels a little similar to the old ways.<\/p>\n

So Posey insisted that it didn\u2019t really faze him when the Dodgers loaded up again last offseason by signing Kyle Tucker for $240 million and Edwin D\u00edaz for $69 million. And it definitely didn\u2019t motivate him to go to Giants ownership (of which he is a member) and ask for an extra $150 million or more to counter the Dodgers\u2019 dynastic reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wasn\u2019t a thought for me, as far as going toe-to toe with those [moves]; just not the reality of the situation that we\u2019re in,\u201d Posey said on my podcast earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd frankly, I\u2019m not even sure \u2014 is that the best way to build a roster long term? I draw on my time as a player, but Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans and their scouting department and amateur department did a great job of adding talent that way, and that was the core of our teams. And then they did a great job supplementing it with some better veteran pieces along the way. …<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what makes sports great is that you can go one route and get it done, you can go another route and get it done. I\u2019m looking at the schedule right now on my desk. We won\u2019t know until September whatever [how] it\u2019s going to be play out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Posey did: He fired Bob Melvin and hired Tony Vitello straight out of Tennessee, he signed moderate free-agent deals with Harrison Bader, Luis Arr\u00e1ez, Adrian Houser, Tyler Mahle, and a few others, and generally made no other significant moves to a roster that went 81-81 last season \u2014 the Giants\u2019 fourth consecutive finish at .500 or just below.<\/p>\n

And that was all after Posey traded for Rafael Devers and picked up the rest of his enormous contract last June and, before that, signed Willy Adames as a free agent the previous offseason.<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u2019t sound like it\u2019s enough to take down Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Freddie Freeman, Tucker, D\u00edaz, and the rest, well, nobody can really argue that.<\/p>\n

But can the Giants play more consistently than they did last season, get some boosts from across the roster, and compete with everybody else? Then maybe get on a hot run in the playoffs? Maybe even give the Dodgers a run for their mega-money in a short series?<\/p>\n

\u201cI really feel like we\u2019re a group that\u2019s pretty close to playing some really meaningful baseball,\u201d Posey said. \u201cAnd I hate even saying that, because that sounds like a cop-out in a sense. And I\u2019ve always said, we\u2019re in this to compete to win a World Series. It\u2019s not just to be competitive. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI can honestly say I do think we have a group that can compete to win a World Series. I think about last year, and some of the down stretches that we had; we just had a hard time coming out of them. And I think that\u2019s what the better teams are able to do; you can avoid being in those stretches for a long period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, the whole endeavor was capsized by a 21-40 freefall from June 11 through Aug. 22 that Melvin just couldn\u2019t get straightened out until it had already ruined everything, including his job security.<\/p>\n

In all other games, the Giants were 61-40 last season (.603 winning percentage). That doesn\u2019t mean they were anything close to a real 98-win team, but it\u2019s a sign that the 2025 team wasn\u2019t terrible. And if the Giants\u2019 transitionary steps last offseason made them better, at a discount price, there is room to move up the standings.<\/p>\n

But to do that, Posey had to take some fairly big risks \u2014 Devers\u2019 money goes on nearly forever, Bader was available because he gets hurt so often, and the Giants are counting on young arms to fill out their rotation. <\/p>\n

Today<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

4 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday, Feb. 10<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Posey mentioned that The Athletic\u2019s Ken Rosenthal earlier in the day had told him that he never would\u2019ve guessed from Posey\u2019s playing days that he\u2019d be such a risk taker as an executive.<\/p>\n

Posey smiled at that, seemed a little surprised that many of us are thinking the same way, then seemed to accept and embrace the conclusion. (As a side note: Posey said he\u2019s currently enjoying Stephen E. Ambrose\u2019s book \u201cUndaunted Courage\u201d about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark\u2019s epic expedition \u2014 commissioned by Thomas Jefferson \u2014 to the Pacific Ocean.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I look at myself necessarily as a risk taker,\u201d Posey said, \u201cbut one lens I do look through is this sport is ultimately supposed to be fun, and it is fun taking some I guess we\u2019ll call them perceived chances at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest one: Counting on Vitello, who seemed to unintentionally underline his lack of MLB experience by opening his media session on Monday with barbed commentary about the mostly accurate reporting <\/a>on the steps leading to his Giants hiring last October. What was the point of this? Oh well.<\/p>\n

I spoke to Posey before I heard about or read Vitello\u2019s comments, so we didn\u2019t discuss them on the podcast. But I don\u2019t know Posey could\u2019ve or would\u2019ve offered much, anyway. On the podcast, Posey said that once he talked to Vitello during the interview process and heard from people who knew or had just gotten to know Vitello, it didn\u2019t feel like much of a gamble.<\/p>\n

But yeah, it\u2019s still a risk. <\/p>\n

\u201cTony\u2019s been great about it, too,\u201d Posey said. \u201cIt\u2019s, like, we don\u2019t know. I mean, we still don\u2019t know, right? We don\u2019t know how things are going to turn out. But I\u2019m confident just in the person and the way that he goes about his work and how he reads people, commands the room, can motivate.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what are Posey\u2019s early thoughts on Vitello through the first few days of camp?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool to see him get out and kind of mix it up with the players,\u201d Posey said. \u201cHe\u2019s bouncing around, whether it\u2019s on the field or in the bullpens, and he\u2019ll get in and take ground balls with pitchers when they\u2019re doing the [pitcher fielding practice] and feed them. He\u2019s hitting fungoes. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not why you hire a guy, but I think it is an example of him being a little bit different. I don\u2019t know how many other managers are out mixing up with their guys; maybe there are some more. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s also a guy … he\u2019s a great speaker, so when he\u2019s addressing the team like he has a couple of times already, he has a real gift to be able to hold a room. And I think that\u2019ll serve him well throughout the course of the year, and hopefully as he\u2019s trying to create this unit, this camaraderie that we all know it takes to have a successful winning team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AVitello made headlines on Monday by opening his daily conversation with reporters with a \u201ctangent.\u201d | Source: Ash Ponders for The Standard<\/p>\n

Here are more highlights from our conversation \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 When asked if he specifically stayed away from huge long-term deals because payroll limitations wouldn\u2019t allow it, Posey suggested that it was partly about making sure the Giants didn\u2019t do anything that screwed up their financial flexibility in the near- and middle-term future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one thing that that I probably didn\u2019t appreciate as a player, that I have to think about a lot more now, is not just the short-term impact,\u201d Posey said. \u201cBut what\u2019s the long-term impact look like, and what might some of these decisions we make, how might they impact, obviously, the first couple of years, but what\u2019s the impact going to be three, four, five, six, seven, and even eight years, whatever it may be down the line?<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd also, giving yourself a little bit of wiggle room to make additions at the trade deadline as well. All of that\u2019s coming into play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Posey clearly is intrigued by Arr\u00e1ez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed watching his at bats,\u201d Posey said. \u201cThere can be some flamboyancy, I guess, in the batter\u2019s box. It takes a different cast of characters, for sure, to make a great team.<\/p>\n

What was it like for Posey as a catcher trying to come up with ways to pitch to somebody like Arr\u00e1ez, who almost never strikes out?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was calling pitches against these guys, I can remember talking to Matt Cain about this type of profile, the hitter,\u201d Posey said. \u201cYou almost are just like, \u2018You know what? We\u2019re going to set up middle-middle. We\u2019re going to throw a fastball right down the middle. Let him put it in play if he gets a hit, tip your hat and move on.\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he\u2019s working his tail off defensively already as well. He and [Ron Washington] are out there. Wash has got all the infielders out there working, which is really fun to see. Matt Chapman was kind of reminiscing a little bit with me the other day about his time in Oakland with Wash. And so, feel good that Luis is in his hands, and you know that he\u2019s going to be prepared. I\u2019m confident of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Even though Bryce Eldridge is still just 21 Posey seems fairly convinced that Eldridge\u2019s powerful left-handed swing will be major-league ready soon. <\/p>\n

But Eldridge doesn\u2019t really have a major-league position yet, and if he did, it\u2019d be first base, where the Giants already have Devers.<\/p>\n

I asked Posey: Would you be hesitant about starting Eldridge\u2019s career as a full-time designated hitter?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s hesitation for me,\u201d Posey said. \u201cI think perfect-case scenario, you\u2019re getting [young players] in the field some and keeping them engaged that way. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut, you know, David Ortiz made a pretty good career out of just being a DH. So it\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ABryce Eldridge is working at first base, the same position where Rafael Devers plays. | Source: Norm Hall\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u2022 Posey is already more than a third through his initial three-year deal as president. When he signed it, he made it clear he was happy it was such a short-term contract because he\u2019d know quickly if he could do the job \u2014 and whether he would want to keep doing it long term.<\/p>\n

While Posey on Monday said there\u2019s no announcement about a contract extension coming ASAP, he said he\u2019s definitely enjoying this job.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, I\u2019ll get cliche: I really am going day-to-day and staying in the moment,\u201d Posey said. \u201cBut I am enjoying it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI texted my wife earlier and just and relayed that to her just that I feel lucky that I am getting to do something that I enjoy doing and being involved in a game that I\u2019ve loved from the time I was a kid, and now getting to do it in a in a way that I honestly probably never thought that I would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 I asked if he and Stanford\u2019s Andrew Luck have been able to get together to talk about the similarities in their situations \u2014 great players who retired at their peaks, took some time away, then recently came back to run the organizations that made them famous.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe caught up recently on the phone, and we were going to try to get together during that Super Bowl week, but were unable to make it happen,\u201d Posey said. \u201cBut we have some mutual friends as well that have talked to me quite a bit about Andrew. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, yeah, I think there\u2019s some parallels for sure. I think I\u2019m curious to talk to him when we do get to sit down in person; he stopped playing at a young age and I stopped playing at a relatively young age. So, yeah, it\u2019s kind of interesting to see that we\u2019re both back with programs or organizations that mean a lot to us. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd by all accounts, from people I\u2019ve talked to, I hear he\u2019s doing a wonderful job.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2408],"tags":[5,6595,162,4,378,66,4343,4340,4344,4341,4342,185,1870],"class_list":{"0":"post-579093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-giants","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-buster-posey","10":"tag-giants","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-giants","14":"tag-sanfrancisco","15":"tag-sanfranciscogiants","16":"tag-sf","17":"tag-sf-giants","18":"tag-sfgiants","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-tony-vitello"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116091280546930013","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}