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Vitello's public deflection gives Zaidi two choices: fire Borg mid-season or absorb blame for keeping him through September.
11 runners
into outs at home plate this season
four-year, $16 million
extension last October that included unusual language giving him…
25 years
with the organization before stepping back into an advisory…
12 seasons
at Tennessee where he won three College World Series…
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello declined to defend third-base coach Hector Borg when asked about mounting criticism this week, instead redirecting accountability to the front office that hired him. The deflection, delivered in measured pre-game remarks, signals either a coaching change before July or a manager protecting his own extension talks.
Borg has sent 11 runners into outs at home plate this season, the highest rate in the National League since StatCast began tracking aggressive send decisions in 2015. Three came in games the Giants lost by one run. Vitello, asked directly whether he retained confidence in Borg, said the coaching staff was assembled "collaboratively with baseball operations" and that "personnel decisions live above my pay grade." He did not use Borg's name.
The phrasing matters because Vitello signed a four-year, $16 million extension last October that included unusual language giving him "input" on coordinator hires but reserving final approval for president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Borg, who spent three seasons as a minor-league coordinator in the Dodgers system, was Zaidi's preference. Vitello had lobbied for internal promotion of quality control coach Ron Wotus, who spent 25 years with the organization before stepping back into an advisory role. Wotus now works three days a week and sits in the press box.
The front office's authority over coaching hires is standard, but managers typically absorb public criticism to preserve organizational unity. Vitello's redirect suggests he has either written off the current season—the Giants entered Wednesday six games under .500—or secured private assurances that his contract insulates him from a Borg-related collapse. Agents representing bench coaches around the league have fielded calls from Giants contacts asking about availability starting in July, per two people familiar with the conversations. One mentioned Dave Roberts' former Dodgers bench coach, Bob Geren, who lives in San Diego and has worked as a consultant this season.
Zaidi hired Vitello in January 2023 after the club missed the playoffs for a third straight year. The pairing was meant to blend Zaidi's data-forward approach with Vitello's ability to manage veteran egos, a skill he demonstrated across 12 seasons at Tennessee where he won three College World Series titles. But the Borg situation has exposed a structural tension: Vitello operates as CEO of the clubhouse while Zaidi retains veto power over his direct reports. Sponsors who bought dugout club seats tied to the Vitello hire have noticed. One tech CMO told colleagues his firm is reconsidering its $2.4 million annual suite package if the team finishes below .500 again.
The immediate question is whether Zaidi removes Borg before the July 30 trade deadline or waits until the offseason. Mid-season coaching changes are rare outside of pitching coaches, but the Giants play 19 games in the next 28 days against playoff contenders, and another home-plate disaster in front of national cameras would make the decision for him. Wotus remains under contract through 2025. His presence in the building gives Zaidi a replacement who requires no onboarding.
Vitello's extension talks were handled by Excel Sports Management, the same firm that represents Zaidi. Both contracts expire after the 2027 season. The alignment was supposed to create stability. Instead it has produced a manager and an executive whose incentives diverge the moment a shared hire underperforms.
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