Giants fire manager Bob Melvin after two seasons

SAN FRANCISCO — For a third consecutive year, the Giants have let go of a prominent figure in their organization.

The Giants announced on Monday morning that they have fired Bob Melvin after two seasons managing the club, a decision that comes just three months after the team exercised Melvin’s option for the 2026 season.

“When seasons don’t go the way you want them, it’s never one person’s fault. It’s never one group’s fault,” Posey said. “But when they don’t go the way you want them, you can’t, in my opinion, sit there and say, ‘We’re going to come back and do the same thing that we did this year for the next year.’ Having said that, that’s part of why we landed where we landed.”

Melvin, 63, ends his time in San Francisco with a 161-163 record, failing to guide the Giants to the playoffs in both of his seasons at the helm.

The Giants’ decision to fire Melvin is a stark reversal of course after Posey gave Melvin a vote of confidence in July by picking up his option for the 2026 season.

Posey said he hoped exercising the option would provide a morale boost for a team that had lost 11 of its last 15 games leading up to the decision. The Giants temporarily righted the ship but ultimately had a 36-41 record following that decision.

“It gave us, for that time, some consistency going forward with the few months left in the season,” Posey said. “Then, unfortunately, we didn’t play the type of baseball that we needed to play to get in the playoffs and that’s why we’re here.”

The firing of Melvin does not come as much of a surprise. Following Sunday’s season finale, Melvin said he did not receive any assurance he would be back for the 2026 season, adding that he would talk to somebody in the organization on Monday about his standing.

“It is what it is,” Melvin said when asked about his status on Sunday. “We’ll see what the next day brings.”

This marks three consecutive Septembers where a leadership figure has been fired. In 2023, former manager Gabe Kapler was fired with three games left in the season and subsequently replaced by Melvin. In 2024, former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was fired and replaced by Posey in one fell swoop.

“It’s not ideal, right? It’s definitely not ideal,” Posey said. “We talked about it a lot, what the standards are for the Giants. We have high standards and I hold myself to those same standards. I understand fully the position I’m in now. My job and the team’s success is evaluated accordingly as well.

“You, without a doubt, hope there can be consistency in these leadership positions. We’ve got to get back to a place where we’re getting in the playoffs, we’re making runs in the playoffs. That’s what our fan base deserves, that’s what the city deserves.”

Now, Posey will now embark on his first managerial search as president of baseball operations. Posey said he’s “pretty open” as far as candidates and that he already has several names in mind, though he declined to share. He added that there will be no definitive timetable on hiring a manger.

Posey said that the Giants’ coaching staff has been notified, noting that “some of the staff is going to be dependent on whoever the new manager ends up being.”

When asked about former Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Posey said he didn’t know Bochy’s status. Posey was also asked about first-base coach Mark Hallberg, Posey’s roommate at Florida State, but Posey said he planned to “keep all my names tight.”

As far as specific qualities, Posey likely won’t value age or experience as much as he values “somebody that’s going to be obsessive about the details, obsessive about work, obsessive about getting the most out of our players, getting the most out of our staff.”

Several players publicly voiced their support for Melvin on Sunday, chief among them being third baseman Matt Chapman, who also played for Melvin in Oakland.

“You know how I feel about BoMel — I love him,” Chapman said. “I feel extremely grateful to play for him. He’s the same guy everyday. He’s been steady for us. He’s always honest with the players. He has our back. He’s done the best with what we’ve given him. The players, a lot of us didn’t play to our capabilities.

“If you ask guys in this room, I think a lot of guys would say they wish they were able to play a little bit better and more consistent, whatever it is. He never turns his back on his and always has our backs.”

Logan Webb not only backed his manager, but clarified comments he made on Tuesday night. After the Giants were eliminated from postseason contention, Webb told reporters the following:

“If there’s one thing about Buster Posey, I don’t think he’s okay with losing. I don’t think he’s okay with even being .500. He wants to win. I’m not going to play his job because it’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.”

On Sunday, Webb said he believed his comments were misconstrued and had nothing to do with Melvin.

“He’s amazing at what he does,” Webb said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to use being able to play better as players. I think everyone in here would say they exact same thing. BoMel is a great leader of men. It’s been amazing. I think BoMel’s great.”

Posey’s first managerial hire will represent San Francisco’s third manager in the last four years (not including interim manager Kai Correa). The last time the Giants had this much managerial turnover was in the mid-1980s.

In 1984, Frank Robinson was fired midway through the 1984 season and replaced by interim manager Danny Ozark. In 1985, Jim Davenport took over as the Giants’ newest manager before being replaced by in mid-September.

For Melvin, a Menlo Park native who described this position as his “dream job,” this firing could mark the end of a 22-year managerial career. Over the last two-plus decades, Melvin has amassed 1,588 wins with the Giants, Oakland A’s, Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks, earning three Manager of the Year awards in the process.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Bob Melvin,” Posey said. "I watched him before I was in the league, competed against him for years and always enjoyed competing with him. Unfortunately, the way that we played throughout the course of the year, this is where we end up.”

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