{"id":704230,"date":"2026-05-20T19:51:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/704230\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T19:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:51:25","slug":"the-sf-giants-have-no-easy-solution-for-this-organizational-rot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/704230\/","title":{"rendered":"The SF Giants have no easy solution for this organizational rot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buster Posey\u2019s place in San Francisco Giants<\/a> history is secure. Anchoring the team\u2019s most successful period in history assures him of that. So, when he was installed as president of baseball operations a few years ago, it seemed like a dream scenario for the organization: One of the most popular players the franchise had ever produced would lead the way back to the playoffs and buy ownership some much-needed goodwill in the process<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Fast-forward to today, and … well, it hasn\u2019t quite worked out that way. Giants fans are as angry as they\u2019ve been in recent memory as they watch an on-field product that has them clamoring for the .500 years of Bob Melvin<\/a>. And Posey, for all his goodwill and good memories, is firmly in the crosshairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Frankly, it\u2019s deserved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The roster that\u2019s been constructed, and the decisions that have been made regarding player development, are equally baffling. A consistent lineup is a pipe dream. This is a club that has a lot of valuable parts that somehow can\u2019t manage to gel into something resembling a competent baseball team.<\/p>\n

Is this all\u00a0Posey\u2019s fault? Of course not. There is an organizational rot that has infested the Giants from the top down<\/a>. Ownership seems to be more interested in buying theaters<\/a> and selling off pieces<\/a> to private equity firms<\/a> than spending money on things like, say, pitching. The on-field product has never felt more like an afterthought than it does now, a way for a real estate firm to make enough money to keep buying properties<\/a>. I never thought I\u2019d be pining for the days when the Giants simply tried to break even<\/a>, but here we are.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the buck must stop with someone, and for better or worse<\/a>, that someone is Posey. Just take a look at some of the head-scratching decisions that have led the Giants to where they are now:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Ignoring an obvious bullpen need: Last year, the Giants traded away<\/a> Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers at the deadline and lost Randy Rodriguez to elbow surgery. They made a late run at the Wild Card and were undone, in part, because they lacked a reliable bullpen. So, it would stand to reason that replenishing what they\u2019d lost would be top of mind last offseason<\/a>, right? Nope \u2014 in a winter that saw a number of late-inning options sign for relatively reasonable salaries, the Giants added virtually nobody to their relief corps, save for a few guys coming off catastrophic injuries. It made no sense then, and it still doesn\u2019t now<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here’s how Ketel Marte hitting a walk-off homer for the Diamondbacks looked and sounded on the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast.<\/p>\n

Duane Kuiper on the Giants play-by-play. \u26be\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f #MLB<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FONrPRP9GB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Jerking around Bryce Eldridge: Why is Eldridge in the big leagues<\/a> if he\u2019s not going to play every day? Why is he being taken out of the lineup a day after hitting a home run, or a day after getting two hits? Why is he losing ABs to the likes of Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan? How, exactly, is having him learn to pinch hit helping with his development? The Giants\u2019 plan for Eldridge<\/a> has been such a disaster that even national baseball writers are noticing<\/a>. How much longer can they wait to see if their top prospect can anchor the middle of their lineup? It certainly would help things if he could!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Constructing a poorly balanced roster: There\u2019s some dark humor in the fact that the year the Giants finally broke their opening day left-fielder streak<\/a>, they were reduced to starting a catcher there by mid-May. Their roster is infield-heavy, lacks MLB-caliber outfielders and has too many weak spots. Sure, no one expected\u00a0Rafael Devers<\/a>, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman to be the weak spots. But even some of the brightest spots on this team have shined in spite of Posey\u2019s moves, not because of them.<\/p>\n

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The Giants clearly didn\u2019t believe Casey Schmitt could handle an everyday job when they signed Luis Arraez this offseason, but Schmitt has hit his way into the lineup and forced the roster mess. Meanwhile, Posey signed Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser to fill out the rotation instead of leaving a spot open for any young starters like Trevor McDonald, a move that has looked worse as Mahle and Houser struggle. McDonald, on the other hand, looked great in his first three starts in the big leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hiring Tony Vitello: A lot of fans are giving Vitello a pass because he\u2019s learning on the job<\/a>, but one of the big questions surrounding Vitello before games began was how he would\u00a0manage a clubhouse<\/a> if things went south. Well, the Giants are heading south as fast as they can, and\u00a0Vitello doesn\u2019t seem to have any answers. Sure, the roster has its issues, but this team should be better than a 96-loss pace. Vitello might turn out to be a good MLB manager, but he was a controversial choice<\/a> that Posey didn\u2019t have to make as his first hire. But he did, and he\u2019s tied to him as a result, just like Farhan Zaidi was to Gabe Kapler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Buster<\/p>\n

Buster Posey, the San Francisco Giants\u2019 president of baseball operations, appears before a baseball game between the Giants and the Miami Marlins in San Francisco on April 25, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeff Chiu\/AP<\/p>\n

When you add that all up and look at the 20-29 record, it\u2019s fair to ask where the Giants, and Posey, go from here because there are no easy solutions. A massive sell-off doesn\u2019t seem to be in the cards, since ownership is reluctant to commit to a full rebuild, and they\u2019d have trouble moving a lot of these contracts anyway. A partial sell-off might bring back a few decent prospects but does nothing to assure fans<\/a> that the Giants will be competitive in the next few years. And moving on from Vitello after one season doesn\u2019t seem likely either, since it would be a massive admission of not knowing what the hell they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

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When\u00a0Posey was hired, I wrote that<\/a> the hope would be in the pantheon of superstar players turned executives and that he\u2019d be more Mario Lemieux than Michael Jordan or Derek Jeter. That\u2019s not looking so great at the moment, but in fairness, it\u2019s early in his tenure. There will be opportunities to right the ship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But will he? Things look bleak at the moment \u2014 this team could easily lose 100 games, Eldridge is already making cryptic comments to the media<\/a> and established stars are mostly performing well below expectations. It\u2019s May, but this already has the feel of a lost season. What does that mean for the short- and long-term future of the Giants, especially ahead of a possible lockout? You can\u2019t hide your real estate ambitions behind baseball if there are no games being played.<\/p>\n

As for\u00a0Posey? Nothing can tarnish his legacy as a player. Flags fly forever. But as an exec? Things are getting ugly fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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