Justin Verlander calls out ‘ridiculous’ Buster Posey haters

The San Francisco Giants have struggled this season under the leadership of team president Buster Posey. Posey is getting defended from critics by veteran pitcher Justin Verlander. Verlander thinks it is absurd to minimize Posey’s legacy to baseball, amidst this season’s challenges.

“Verlander believes it’s ludicrous that anyone could actually believe that former San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey’s Hall of Fame credentials could be diminished because of his struggles as Giants president of baseball operations,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Sunday.

In fact, Verlander pulled no punches when giving his opinion on that.

“That’s ridiculous,’’ Verlander said. “That’s a ridiculous question.’’

The Giants president of baseball operations has never been shy to make a splash. Under his leadership, San Francisco made a huge trade in the 2025 season by obtaining Rafael Devers from Boston.

Posey then made a controversial decision before the 2026 Major League Baseball season. He named Tony Vitello as his manager. While Vitello had been a successful manager in college baseball, he had no experience managing a Major League team.

The Giants this season have struggled under Vitello. Giants fans have booed the team to voice their frustrations. San Francisco enters Sunday with a disappointing 42-56 record. Rumors float that Vitello may be gone after this campaign.

Posey has also not been immune to criticism. Giants fans expected big things from him, when he took over as president of baseball operations in 2024. The Giants have yet to make a postseason appearance with Posey at the helm, and things went from bad in 2025 to worse this season.

San Francisco is in action on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners. The Giants have five wins in their last 10 games.