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Giants manager Tony Vitello under fire over Drew Gilbert decision after Jonah Cox early exit

Giants manager Tony Vitello under fire over Drew Gilbert decision after Jonah Cox early exit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The San Francisco Giants decided to part ways with Bob Melvin at the end of the 2025 season after things didn’t go the way they had hoped. The Giants want to be a playoff team, as that has long been part of the organization’s tradition.

This time in their managerial search, they decided to make history. Tony Vitello was the first manager hired with no previous professional experience.

“After days of negotiations, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello has been named the new manager of the San Francisco Giants, the team announced Wednesday, marking the first time a big league team has hired a manager directly from a college program without any experience as a professional coach,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Pete Thamel wrote.

It has backfired for the Giants, to say the least, and after Monday, Vitello is under fire once again for pinch-hitting Drew Gilbert.

“San Francisco Giants fans seem to find a new reason every day to be upset with manager Tony Vitello. And Monday was no different. Giants fans were miffed with Vitello on Monday night during a 16-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers because the former Tennessee head coach pinch hit former Vols outfielder Drew Gilbert for rookie Jonah Cox in the fifth inning with San Francisco down by six runs,” A to Z Sports’ Zach Ragan wrote.

Cox was recently called up, and the organization is excited about his potential. The feeling was that, with the game already out of reach, there was no real reason to make a change in that spot. Vitello was asked after the game whether Cox was potentially injured, and he explained his reasoning.

“No, he wasn’t (banged up),” said Vitello after the loss. “Obviously, it (pinch hitting for Cox) came a lot quicker than we thought it would. But playing behind there and hoping to get the leadoff man on and punch back as quick as possible with what the score was.”

The obvious frustration from fans stems from Vitello giving Gilbert an at-bat, a player he previously coached at Tennessee. That connection was always going to be something critics watched closely when he took the job.

The Giants are in a rough stretch, and it has been difficult to satisfy an increasingly frustrated fan base. Vitello is doing what he can to steady a difficult start to the season. He was hoping it would spark a rally, but instead it looks like another early managerial misstep.

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