The San Francisco Giants parted ways with manager Bob Melvin on Monday morning. The Giants entered the season with playoff aspirations, and fell well short of those despite investing capital in payroll and trading for former Red Sox superstar Rafael Devers. Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey has backed up his efforts to bring a winner back to the Bay Area, and has shown a willingness to take chances other front office executives might stray away from.
The Giants have fired manager Bob Melvin.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) September 29, 2025
This makes an action like firing Melvin all the more understandable from Posey's point of view. In his mind, the Giants World Series window is wide open, even if the organization is still a few pieces away from actually achieving its goal of making the postseason in 2026. There's no denying the 2025 season was a disappointment. Once San Francisco added Devers, it was expected they'd be a force to be reckoned with in a loaded NL West. Instead, they finished fourth, ahead of only the lowly Colorado Rockies.
Now, that is not all Melvin's fault. Melvin has managed the Giants since 2023, and has finished at .500 or below on both occasions. Given the expectations of the fanbase and ownership for that matter, Posey is willing to risk it all.
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Bob Melvin sure sounded like he knew this was coming
Melvin's tactics fell short in 2025, as the team finished near the bottom of the league in many key offensive categories, including team batting average, slugging percentage and runs per game. The pitching staff – once a strength in San Francisco – had a team ERA outside of the top-10 and a team WHIP which ranked 18th in baseball. Following the Giants season-ending win over the Rockies on Sunday, Melvin sounded a lot like a dead man walking.
“It is what it is, “Melvin said at the time. “We’ll see what the next day brings. I think I’m going to talk to somebody tomorrow."
Tomorrow has come, and with it the Giants have gone in a different direction. Melvin is a three-time manager of the year and the team had committed to him beyond this season. It's tough for Posey to justify letting Melvin walk unless he's assured a better replacement, which could come in the form of Bruce Bochy.
Buster Posey is risking it all for Bruce Bochy and the Giants
With Melvin out, it's expected that Posey will try to lure former Giants manager Bruce Bochy back to San Francisco. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported as much on Sunday. Bochy's contract with the Texas Rangers just expired at the end of this season, and he's won a World Series with Posey as his catcher. The two remain on good terms, and the future Hall-of-Fame skipper is the only answer Giants fans ought to accept after letting a three-time Manager of the Year in Melvin go. Sometimes a new voice in the clubhouse is a necessity, and Bochy would be a huge get given he won another Fall Classic with the Texas Rangers just a few years ago.
As for the Giants players, they can't pretend to be surprised by Posey's actions. He has a flare for the dramatic, and is willing to do whatever it takes to win – even if it means burning some bridges.
“If there's one thing about Buster Posey it's that I don't think he's OK with losing, I don't think he's okay with even being .500," Giants ace Logan Webb told reporters. “I'm not going to play his job because that's not my job, but I don't think he's OK with this. I don't think there's a lot of people OK with this in this clubhouse."
In firing Melvin to chase Bochy (or another high-profile replacement), Posey is putting his reputation on the line. For his sake (and Giants fans), we can only hope he knows something we don't.