Giants manager Tony Vitello calls out ‘bulls—‘ report

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Giants manager Tony Vitello calls out ‘bulls—‘ report

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Aug 2, 2026 1:12 PM ET

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello had some stark criticism of a claim that was made on a recent broadcast about shortstop Willy Adames.

Vitello was unhappy about a comment made by announcer Wayne Randazzo during AppleTV’s broadcast of the game against the San Diego Padres on Friday. Randazzo indicated that Giants infield coach Ron Washington said it had been “a little bit harder” for Adames to commit to infield work, which made it sound like there was an issue with Adames’ work ethic.

“Wash says it’s been a little bit harder for Adames to commit to the work day in and day out”. Unreal if true. https://t.co/zIPdwns8ae
— Giant Hot Takes (@GiantHotTakes) August 1, 2026

“Questioning work ethic there, first of all, is not anything close to what I put out there,” Vitello said Saturday. “I could give you my exact answer, but it’s bulls–t, is what it is.”

"It's bulls–t, is what it is."

Tony Vitello adamantly defended Willy Adames after a recent report criticizing his work ethic pic.twitter.com/dGAwBUVs6b
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 1, 2026

The initial comment seems to have been missing some vital context. It was reported last month that Adames has been playing through a back injury for much of the season, which has somewhat limited the work he has been able to do with Washington. If Adames has not been able to put in the work, it does not seem to have been by choice.

Adames has come under steady criticism for much of the season as both he and the Giants have underperformed. He entered play Sunday hitting just .224 on the season, and there have been reports that the Giants would like to get out from under his hefty contract. As long as he is with the Giants, however, his manager clearly has his back.

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