Analyzing the Top Candidates to Be the Giants’ Next Manager

The San Francisco Giants are heading into their third straight offseason with an opening in a position of importance. With a manager opening in 2023 and a President of Baseball Operations opening just last year, it’s been a consistent run of turnover for the organization by the bay.

Now, the franchise legend who took that opening last offseason, Buster Posey, has to choose the manager to lead this team back to consistent postseason baseball. With a resume full of big acquisitions in just his first year after signing Willy Adames and trading for Rafael Devers, Posey may have his biggest decision yet.

Because he inherited Bob Melvin as the Giants’ manager when he took the POBO position, the former backstop now gets to choose his guy on the front step of the dugout. Whether it’s a former veteran player who understands the importance of analytics or an old school skipper with the feel for the game, it’s up to Posey to make the call, and he needs to get it right.

Let’s take a look at some of the potential candidates for the manager of the San Francisco Giants.

Candidates

Nick Hundley

The reported favorite for the job, Hundley has always fit the mold of a future manager and is currently in an advisor role with the Texas Rangers. San Francisco was extremely interested in him the last time they had an opening in 2023, but he declined to interview for the position. However, Hundley seems a bit more open to it this time around as he has reportedly already interviewed for the job.

Catchers have always been seen as potential candidates to lead a ballclub, and Hundley is a guy who did it for 12 years at the game’s highest level. He also was the backup to Posey himself for two seasons with the Giants towards the end of his career in 2017 and 2019. This seems like the most likely ending at this point, but there are certainly others in the mix.

Craig Albernaz

Albernaz is currently in Cleveland acting as the “associate manager.” For a team and staff that just pulled off one of the best division clinches in MLB history, he got a front row seat to how Stephen Vogt (who was another favorite for the Giants’ job in 2023) operates.

Albernaz is no stranger to San Francisco, either. He spent four seasons with the organization on Gabe Kapler’s staff, primarily as the catching coach. Interestingly enough, he coached Posey himself in 2021 and spent the majority of 2023 with current backstop Patrick Bailey. With ties to Posey and the Giants, experience under a successful manager, and a knack for the details, Albernaz seems like a prime fit for the job.

Kurt Suzuki

A bit of a surprise due to his lack of ties with the Giants, Suzuki did spend seven seasons in the Bay Area with the Oakland Athletics. Similarly to Hundley, Suzuki is a former catcher who had a long, successful career in Major League Baseball, even making an All-Star Game in 2014 and winning a World Series in 2019.

Clearly, he’s done something to stand out to Posey as he’s one of the few guys to make his short list. As a matter of fact, he’s one of the confirmed names that have already interviewed for the position just a week into the managerial search. While he may not have any coaching experience, it is common knowledge that catcher’s make good managers.

Tony Vitello

Bringing in a collegiate head coach would be a risky, unorthodox decision, but it would also be the most fun. Posey has shown a willingness to go for it in his first year at the helm of the Giants and this would only continue that trend.

Already reported as a possibility by Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, Vitello fits what Buster Posey is looking for thanks to one major thing. He wins.

The head coach of the Tennessee Vols has gone 341-131 in his time there while going 125-85 in the gauntlet that is SEC baseball.

He completely turned around the Tennessee program and has produced several big leaguers. One of them being the Giants’ most recent shot of adrenaline, Drew Gilbert, and another being current Giants pitching prospect Blade Tidwell. While the jump from coaching college baseball directly to a big league manager’s seat hasn’t necessarily been done before, Vitello seems like the candidate most likely to find success doing it.

Ron Wotus

While Wotus doesn’t necessarily seem to fit the mold of the what Posey is looking for, he could absolutely get an interview. He’s the longest tenured coach in the history of the organization as he spent 34 years with the team prior to retiring in 2021 and coached Posey and the Giants during their three World Series’ in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

Working under some legendary coaches such as Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy, Wotus undoubtedly knows what it takes to win. Will the longtime assistant finally get his shot to write the lineup cards or is he too similar to Bochy, who Posey already turned down as a potential candidate.

Names To Think About

Mark DeRosa – Played 16 seasons (two with SFG), managed Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Mark Hallberg – Posey’s teammate at FSU, Giants’ third/first base coach since 2020, notably held on to from Kapler and Melvin’s staffs.

Rocco Baldelli – 2019 AL Manager of the Year, 527-505 record with MIN (where he was just let go).

Andrew Bailey – current pitching coach with BOS, former pitching coach with SFG, developed Logan Webb, pitched for 9 seasons in MLB (2009 AL Rookie of the Year).

Yadier Molina – Played 19 seasons with STL, 10x Gold Glove winner, 10x All-Star, managed Puerto Rican National Team and in Venezuelan Professional League.