Bob Melvin, who presided over two mediocre seasons that included a regime change in the front office, was fired as San Francisco Giants manager Sept. 29, the latest aggressive move from franchise legend and club president Buster Posey.
Melvin, 63, presided over 80-82 and 81-81 seasons in San Francisco. That period saw Posey supplant Farhan Zaidi as head of baseball operations and trade for Boston Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers, a June blockbuster that theoretically could have boosted the Giants out of the .500 morass they’d been stuck in since winning a franchise-record 107 games in 2021.
Yet a pitching staff that became further emaciated as the season went on sabotaged any semblance of consistency even as Devers and $182 million shortstop acquisition Willy Adames became more accustomed to playing in San Francisco’s pitcher-friendly park.
Now, the club faces an inflection point in its history, and the notion of a reunion with one of its icons looms.
Bruce Bochy, who led the Giants to World Series titles in 2012, 2014 and 2016, is available after his contract expired with the Texas Rangers. Bochy, 70, might consider his 2023 title won with the Rangers as his walk off into the sunset.
Yet as he proved after parting ways with the Giants after Zaidi’s first season in 2019, Bochy never really retires – and becomes an immediate candidate in San Francisco.
The Giants enter a crowded pool of teams seeking a manager, with openings in Baltimore, Washington, Colorado and now Minnesota, after the Twins fired Rocco Baldelli; the Pittsburgh Pirates filled one opening by retaining interim manager Don Kelly.
And a half-dozen other positions are in various states of flux, starting with Bochy and Atlanta’s Brian Snitker both facing expiring contracts and potential retirement. The Los Angeles Angels must decide whether they’re confident Ron Washington can return from heart surgery, while the Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals are all perennial playoff contenders who missed out on the postseason.
The Giants picked up Melvin’s 2026 option on July 2, Posey saying then that the Giants were ‘really fortunate to have such an experienced leader and one of the most well-respected managers in baseball.’
A 3-10 stretch in the middle of September abruptly ended any hopes of wild-card contention.
Melvin is a three-time Manager of the Year, winning the honor in 2007 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and 2012 and 2018 with the Oakland Athletics. He also managed the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres in a 22-year managerial career that’s produced a 1,678-1,588 record and eight playoff appearances.
