The San Francisco Giants are “closing in” on hiring as their next manager University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello, per the Athletic.
When word broke that the Giants had fired veteran Bob Melvin after
two seasons, the immediate speculation was that president of baseball operations Buster Posey would be looking to hire his former manager, Bruce Bochy, who parted ways with the Texas Rangers the same day. Instead, Posey is going for what would appear to be the opposite of those two long-time veteran major league managers.
The 47 year old Vitello has been the University of Tennessee baseball coach since 2018. Prior to that he had 15 years as an assistant at the University of Missouri, TCU, and the University of Arkansas. His background is unique for an MLB managerial hire, as he has no experience in professional ball, be it as a player or in a non-playing role.
The Volunteers won the College World Series in 2024, advanced to Omaha in 2021 and 2023, and advanced to the Super Regionals in 2023 and 2025.
The Athletic notes that Vitello is one of the highest paid NCAA baseball coaches at $3 million per year, a salary that would put him in the upper half of MLB manager salaries. The expectation would be that the Giants would be making him one of the highest paid managers in the game to get him to leave Knoxville.
