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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/mlb-stories/4-perfect-mlb-landing-destinations-for-tatsuya-imai-after-getting-posted');   ga('set', 'title', '4 perfect MLB landing destinations for Tatsuya Imai after getting posted');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/X-perfect-MLB-landing-destinations-for-Tatsuya-Imai-after-getting-posted.jpg"></figure><h1>4 perfect MLB landing destinations for Tatsuya Imai after getting posted</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-18T12:42:31-08:00">November 18th, 12:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-18T12:42:31-08:00">November 18th, 12:42pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.spiering.3" rel="facebook">Chris Spiering</a>Chris Spiering graduated from the University of San Diego with a Communication Studies Degree. He spent his final year as the Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris used to manage the betting team at ClutchPoints and now contributes about the NFL, MLB, NCAA Sports, and NBA, but he follows most sports, including NCAA Basketball. Chris also covers San Diego State men's basketball for East Village Times.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Red Sox</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2025-26 MLB offseason is in full swing. Random minor trades have been ongoing, and a majority of teams are making roster moves to improve ahead of the 2026 season. Teams will be heading to Spring Training in less than three months, so the pace is quick, and teams don’t have very long before they need to be back preparing for next season.</p><p>Every season, a new pitcher or position player gets posted from Japan. The latest name is Tatsuya Imai, a <a href="https://x.com/Feinsand/status/1990838755016499323" rel="noopener">right-handed pitcher</a> who played for the Saitama Seibu Lions and Team Japan.</p><p>“MLB informed teams today that RHP Tatsuya Imai of the Saitama Seibu Lions has been posted. The negotiating window begins Wednesday at 8am ET and concludes on January 2 at 5pm ET.”</p><p>The window isn’t very long for him to sign. If he does not sign in this window, he will return to Japan. There will be a ton of teams interested in the right-handers’ services, as many Japanese pitchers have a history of pitching at a high level. Let’s dive into four teams that could be perfect landing spots for Imai.</p><h2><b>No. 4 – San Diego Padres</b></h2><p>The San Diego Padres are in desperate need of starting pitching. Fellow Japanese starter, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-yu-darvish-undergoes-ucl-surgery-out-for-2026-season">Yu Darvish, will miss the season</a> after undergoing UCL surgery, and the team is likely going to lose both Dylan Cease and Michael King to free agency. That leaves Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove (who is coming off Tommy John surgery).</p><p>Imai can come to San Diego and bring needed depth to the rotation. Imai is projected to be a middle-of-the-rotation type of pitcher in the early parts of his career, but he has the upside to be a really good starter in this league. With San Diego, he would be asked to do more than he would with other teams or contenders unless the Padres make a trade for an ace.</p><h2><b>No. 3 New York Mets</b></h2><p>The New York Mets are coming off a disastrous 2025 season. They missed the playoffs by one game and had what seemed like a million opportunities to win one extra game to get into the postseason. However, that did not happen. A major reason was the lack of talent in the rotation.</p><p>Clay Holmes and David Peterson were the two top starters last season as Kodai Senga missed a lot of time. With Senga there, Imai would be a great option to have pitching alongside him. Imai could be the No. 4 starter for the Mets. There have been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-rumors-new-york-blow-up-expected-feature-kodai-senga-trade">rumors of trading Kodai Senga</a>, but that would be a serious blockbuster trade.</p><h2><b>No. 2 Boston Red Sox</b></h2><p>The Red Sox are a very good baseball team that is missing just a few pieces. Imai could be that guy. He would come in and join a pitching rotation that is on the verge of becoming lethal. Garrett Crochet leads the way and just finished as the runner-up for AL CY Young in 2025. Brayan Bello is a rising pitcher, and Lucas Giolito has proven to be dominant more often than not. However, Giolito is a free agent after declining his mutual option. It’s unclear if a return on a better deal is on the table or not. The Sox are going to need Imai to provide depth with a chance to be a very good pitcher in a difficult AL East division.</p><h2><b>No. 1 San Francisco Giants</b></h2><p>The San Francisco Giants are the perfect fit for Imai. SF finished 81-81 last season and are very close to being contenders. Imai may get them over the hump. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray are two very good starters in this league. The Giants are likely going to lose Justin Verlander, as he may pitch for another team in 2026, and that leaves room for Imai to be a solid pitcher for this rotation.</p><p>SF is looking for another young starter to become the next face of the rotation. He would have two great mentors in front of him, and Webb and Ray are veteran guys who pitched very well last season. The Giants are a team on the rise, and Buster Posey is going to build a winning team in the future.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

4 perfect MLB landing destinations for Tatsuya Imai after getting posted

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-how-he-ended-up-becoming-san-franciscos-manager');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tony Vitello explains how he ended up becoming Giants’ new manager');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Tony-Vitello-during-a-2025-game.jpg"><figcaption>© Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Tony Vitello explains how he ended up becoming Giants’ new manager</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-18T09:15:51-08:00">November 18th, 9:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-18T09:15:51-08:00">November 18th, 9:15am</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-san-francisco-hires-college-coach-replace-bob-melvin">San Francisco Giants hiring Tony Vitello as the team’s next manager</a>, he comes from the college level with the University of Tennessee, bringing an interesting experience to the professional level. As <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-extremely-honest-admission-joining-san-francisco">Vitello joins the Giants as the next manager</a>, he would speak on how the move came about to move from the college to the professional stage.</p><p>Vitello would speak on MLB Network about the move, saying that the “glow” of the exciting news has worn off and is working on the final stages of the coaching staff. In terms of how it came about, Vitello would say it started with San Francisco selecting Gavin Kilen, a Tennessee Volunteer, with their first-round pick in July’s MLB Draft, expressing <a href="https://x.com/MLBNetwork/status/1990805631075287389" rel="noopener">“how much time” </a>the front office went into that decision.</p><p>This would be the relative beginning of the contact between Vitello and the organization.</p><p>“I think how my whole career came about is being surrounded by good players,” Vitello said. “And the Giants selected one of our best players, Gavin Kilen, with their first round selection in the draft. And these clubs, I hope the fans realize how much time scouts and front offices put into these decisions, and it’s like any decision, it’s a good one if it works out, and it’s criticized if it doesn’t, but the time and effort is put in.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">New <a href="https://twitter.com/SFGiants?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SFGiants</a> manager Tony Vitello shares his experience being hired out of Tennessee: </p><p>“The idea started to get floated a little bit and I didn't know how serious it was…”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLBNHotStove?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLBNHotStove</a> <a href="https://t.co/a6e53VPuu2">pic.twitter.com/a6e53VPuu2</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1990805631075287389?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Tony Vitello on communication with the Giants before being hired </b></h2><p>Though <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-breaks-silence-leaving-tennessee-san-francisco">Vitello left Tennessee for the Giants,</a> his college job no doubt had a part in the decision, as the first-time MLB manager would go into how the team contacted him about other players they acquired. From then, “the idea started to get floated” about him being their next manager.</p><p>“So there’s a lot of conversations,” Vitello said. “And then when Drew Gilbert and Blade Tidwell are traded for, there’s background research there, and then there’s follow-up, like, ‘Hey, any tips on how to coach these guys or who they are.’ And then the idea started to get floated a little bit, and I didn’t know how serious it was, but a lot of steps went down, and a lot of drama went down. And here we are.”</p><p>At any rate, San Francisco looks to improve after finishing 81-81 last season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tony Vitello explains how he ended up becoming Giants’ new manager

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-hitting-coach-ditching-blue-jays-san-francisco');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants’ new hitting coach ditches Blue Jays for San Francisco');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Tony-Vitello.jpg"><figcaption>Randy Sartin-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants’ new hitting coach ditches Blue Jays for San Francisco</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-12T14:22:43-08:00">November 12th, 2:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-12T14:22:43-08:00">November 12th, 2:22pm</time><address><a>Abdullah Imran</a>Abdullah Imran works as an Associate Editor for All Sports at ClutchPoints. He’s been a sports fan his entire life and enjoys writing about every sport. He has spent three years in sports journalism and loves analyzing games. In his free time, he very much enjoys binge-watching shows and playing video games.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Francisco Giants have lured Hunter Mense away from the Toronto Blue Jays to <a href="https://x.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1988688105709400208" rel="noopener">join their staff</a> as hitting coach, according to The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon. The move reunites Mense <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-mlb-hiring">with New York’s new manager, Tony Vitello</a>, under whom he played at the University of Missouri.</p><p>Mense had been the quiet architect behind Toronto’s offensive consistency since 2018, when he began as the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ hitting coach. That same year, New Hampshire won the Eastern League championship under his guidance. After three seasons as the Blue Jays’ minor league hitting coordinator, the 41-year-old earned a promotion to the big-league staff in 2022.</p><p>During his four seasons on Toronto’s major league staff, Mense helped develop one of baseball’s most productive offenses. This year, the Blue Jays ranked fourth in MLB with 798 runs scored during the regular season and advanced to Game 7 of the World Series before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-fans-cant-believe-game-7-world-series-comeback">losing 5–4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers</a>. Working alongside hitting coach David Popkins and assistant Lou Iannotti, Mense contributed to the steady improvement of Toronto’s lineup, which showed noticeable improvement in 2025.</p><p>His departure adds another blow to the Blue Jays’ staff this offseason. Bench coach Don Mattingly also exited, drawing interest from the Philadelphia Phillies, according to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.</p><p>Before transitioning to coaching, Mense was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. Over five minor league seasons, he worked up a .254 batting average with 19 home runs across 349 games, reaching as high as Triple-A in 2010.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants’ new hitting coach ditches Blue Jays for San Francisco

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-san-francisco-royals-agree-to-trade-pitchers-early-in-offseason');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants, Royals agree to trade pitchers early in offseason');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/San-Francisco-Royals-agree-to-trade-pitchers-early-in-offseason.jpg"><figcaption>Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants, Royals agree to trade pitchers early in offseason</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-11T11:46:19-08:00">November 11th, 11:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-11T11:46:19-08:00">November 11th, 11:46am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.spiering.3" rel="facebook">Chris Spiering</a>Chris Spiering graduated from the University of San Diego with a Communication Studies Degree. He spent his final year as the Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris used to manage the betting team at ClutchPoints and now contributes about the NFL, MLB, NCAA Sports, and NBA, but he follows most sports, including NCAA Basketball. Chris also covers San Diego State men's basketball for East Village Times.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The MLB offseason is in full swing now, and MLB teams are aiming to improve their roster for the 2026 season. The Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants were two teams capable of making the postseason last season, but could not get there. These two teams just <a href="https://x.com/BNightengale/status/1988323040724386177" rel="noopener">agreed on an early offseason trade</a>.</p><p>“The San Francisco Giants and KC Royals swap right-handed pitchers with Mason Black going to KC and Logan Martin going to SF.”</p><p>Mason Black has not had a successful start to his major league career. In 2024, he started eight games in nine appearances, ending with a 6.44 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 31 strikeouts, and 15 walks. In 2025, he made just one appearance, pitching 4.0 innings and allowing three earned runs. It’s a very small sample size, but the Giants felt that it was not working, and now Black will aim to revamp his career with the Royals.</p><p>The Royals are trading Logan Martin to the Giants. Martin has yet to make his major league debut and seems to be far from doing so. He ended last season in High A+ pitching for Quad Cities. He ended with a 3.45 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 91.1 innings. He started all 22 games played on the season and established himself as someone who can be relied on. The Giants are getting someone who could be a big factor in their success down the road.</p><p>The Giants and Royals are not going to scare anyone right now in terms of lineups and starting rotations. The Royals contain Bobby Witt Jr, who is one of the best players in the game. However, the rest of the lineup is not deep enough. The Giants now have Rafael Devers, and a full season with him in the lineup will improve their chances.</p><p>If these two squads want to make the postseason in 2026, they must make more trades to improve their rosters. The Giants recently hired <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-ig-welcome">Tony Vitello as their new manager</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants, Royals agree to trade pitchers early in offseason

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/mlb-rumors-giants-threat-steal-max-scherzer-blue-jays');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Giants a threat to steal Max Scherzer from Blue Jays');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Max-Scherzer-1.jpg"><figcaption>Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Giants a threat to steal Max Scherzer from Blue Jays</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-10T11:56:04-08:00">November 10th, 11:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-10T11:56:04-08:00">November 10th, 11:56am</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut-based sports journalist with over five years of professional experience. After graduating from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, he has covered every sport from fencing to football in the online and print medium. Dan hopes to see his beloved Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/toronto-blue-jays/blue-jays-news-max-scherzer-5-word-mic-drop-future-world-series" rel="noopener">strong postseason run with the Toronto Blue Jays</a>, Max Scherzer is now set to hit free agency. Despite entering his age-41 season, the right-hander is still drawing interest across the league.</p><p>The San Francisco Giants are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6792645/2025/11/10/max-scherzer-world-series-blue-jays/" rel="noopener">now known as one of the teams</a> who could make a run at Scherzer, via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. His <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-vitello-to-make-highest-salary-ever-for-1st-year-mlb-manager" rel="noopener">connection to new head coach Tony Vitello</a> may be the factor that tips the Scherzer sweepstakes into San Francisco’s favor.</p><p>“Some in the industry expect Scherzer to land with the San Francisco Giants, reuniting with new manager Tony Vitello, his pitching coach at Missouri in the mid-2000s,” Rosenthal wrote. “A return to Toronto also might be an option. Scherzer, like virtually all of the Blue Jays, speaks with great fondness about the unique bonds the players and their families forged last season.”</p><p>The Giants have pitchers such as Brandon Webb and Robbie Ray atop their rotation. However, Justin Verlander is set to hit free agency. Furthermore, San Francisco at large ranked 10th in ERA with a 3.82 mark in 2025. While certainly nothing to sneeze at, the Giants likely want a bit more firepower to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers.</p><p>The 17 starts Scherzer made during the regular season didn’t look great. He carried a 5.19 ERA and a 82/23 K/BB ratio. He performed much more admirably in the postseason though, holding the Dodgers to four runs in the almost nine innings pitched. Furthermore, he won his lone start in the ALCS.</p><p>Scherzer’s legend tells itself though. The Giants or any team won’t need much convincing. He is a eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young and two-time World Series champion. The Blue Jays sure wouldn’t mind keeping his services. But the Giants are hot on his tail.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Giants a threat to steal Max Scherzer from Blue Jays

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/chicago-cubs/3-teams-that-should-steal-shota-imanaga-away-from-cubs');   ga('set', 'title', '3 teams that should steal Shota Imanaga away from Cubs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/X-teams-that-should-steal-Shota-Imanaga-away-from-Cubs.jpg"></figure><h1>3 teams that should steal Shota Imanaga away from Cubs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-09T09:01:47-08:00">November 9th, 9:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-09T09:01:47-08:00">November 9th, 9:01am</time><address><a>Garrett Kerman</a>Garrett Kerman also goes by the name of The Fight Analyst. He covers all combat sports, from MMA, to boxing, to even bare-knuckle. He is also very well-versed in all American sports when it comes to news and betting analysis. Whether you want betting advice or some breaking news, Garrett is your guy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Red Sox</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The free agency market just welcomed one of its most intriguing available arms—and the Chicago Cubs inexplicably let him walk. Shota Imanaga, the 32-year-old Japanese left-handed starter who dazzled in his rookie MLB campaign, is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/cubs-news-shota-imanaga-free-agent-dueling-contract-rejections">now available after both sides declined their respective options</a>. This bombshell represents one of the most baffling offseason decisions in recent memory, creating a unique opportunity for savvy front offices looking to add a quality mid-rotation arm at reasonable cost. While Imanaga experienced some regression in 2025, posting a 3.73 ERA and 0.99 WHIP across 144.2 innings compared to his All-Star 2024 season (2.91 ERA, 174 strikeouts), he remains a reliable starting pitcher capable of giving teams 150+ innings annually.</p><p>The market for Imanaga is already heating up, with preliminary projections suggesting he’ll command around $43.5 million over three years. That’s a bargain compared to the top-tier free agent arms available this winter. Several teams possess both the financial resources and the immediate need to capitalize on this opportunity. Here are three franchises that should aggressively pursue the talented lefty and potentially create situations far more favorable than anything the Cubs can offer.</p><h2>Los Angeles Dodgers</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Shota-Imanaga-2.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The obvious choice, but for perfectly logical reasons. The Dodgers have established themselves as the premier destination for Japanese talent in Major League Baseball, with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki already thriving in Los Angeles. This infrastructure advantage cannot be overstated—the Dodgers employ dedicated Japanese player operations personnel, including Will Ireton, who serves as cultural intermediary, interpreter, and player development analyst.</p><p>Adding Imanaga to a rotation featuring Ohtani, Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow would create arguably the most dominant starting five in baseball. The Dodgers won the World Series in 2025, and their organizational philosophy suggests they’ll aggressively pursue depth on their pitching staff. Yamamoto’s presence alone provides Imanaga with a familiar peer, while the franchise’s proven ability to maximize Japanese player potential offers genuine developmental appeal.</p><p>Los Angeles’s financial resources are unmatched, and they won’t hesitate to outbid competitors for an All-Star-caliber talent. Imanaga could serve as their fifth starter, providing crucial innings during the regular season and allowing the organization to manage workloads for their elite arms. The Dodgers understand that you can never have too much quality starting pitching, especially given their recent injury history.</p><h2>San Francisco Giants</h2><p>The Giants entered this offseason desperate for pitching, and that desperation has only intensified following their early playoff exit. San Francisco possesses Logan Webb and Robbie Ray anchoring the rotation, but significant depth issues loom beyond that tandem. Landen Roupp showed promise but has durability concerns, while Justin Verlander is hitting free agency and may not return to the organization.</p><p>General Manager Zack Minasian has publicly acknowledged the need for multiple starting pitcher additions, making Imanaga a perfect secondary target if the Giants miss out on the Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease sweepstakes. The Giants desperately need innings, and Imanaga has proven he can consistently deliver them at a reasonable cost.</p><p>San Francisco’s park factors also work in Imanaga’s favor. Coors Field is known for being pitcher-unfriendly, but the Bay Area provides more consistent wind patterns that can suppress fly balls and home runs. This was partially the Cubs’ problem with Imanaga—Wrigley Field’s notorious wind situation turned his fly balls into home runs more frequently than expected. A move to a more neutral park could resurrect his 2024 form.</p><p>Owner Bob Johnson has signaled willingness to spend to improve the roster, and Imanaga represents excellent value for a team that finished well out of contention in the NL West.</p><h2>Boston Red Sox</h2><p>The Red Sox stumbled through another disappointing postseason and understand that their rotation needs reinforcement. Garrett Crochet leads the way, but the team lacks a legitimate number-two starter to complement him. Brayan Bello showed concerning inconsistencies during his playoff appearance, while Lucas Giolitio presents reliability concerns despite flashes of competence.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shota Imanaga is officially a free agent.</p><p>The Red Sox were interested in him when he initially came over from Japan.</p><p>Look for them to immediately check in with him.</p><p>Or the Dodgers will just get him…. <a href="https://t.co/YTHayp2WvJ">pic.twitter.com/YTHayp2WvJ</a></p><p>— Dean Ciriaco (@skippsviewdean) <a href="https://twitter.com/skippsviewdean/status/1985725765527191950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Boston traditionally pursues starting pitcher upgrades, and Imanaga could provide exactly what they need at a mid-rotation price point. The Red Sox likely won’t land Dylan Cease or another elite free agent, making Imanaga an attractive consolation prize. He could immediately slot into their second or third rotation spot and provide stability.</p><p>Craig Breslow’s front office has capital to spend following the team’s inability to secure more premium offensive talent. Investing in rotation depth represents smart asset allocation for a franchise hoping to compete in an increasingly difficult AL East.</p><p>The Bottom Line<br>Shota Imanaga remains a quality starting pitcher entering his age-32 season. While he’s not the game-changing ace that other free agents represent, he offers tremendous value and reliability. The Dodgers represent the obvious destination given their Japanese infrastructure, but the Giants and Red Sox both present compelling cases. All three teams can offer Imanaga something the Cubs could not: certainty, financial commitment, and an organizational environment that values durability and consistency from its pitching staff.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 teams that should steal Shota Imanaga away from Cubs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-sf-makes-move-dodgers-world-series-hero');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants make intriguing move on Dodgers’ World Series hero');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Justin-Dean.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants make intriguing move on Dodgers’ World Series hero</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-06T19:38:23-08:00">November 6th, 7:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-06T19:38:23-08:00">November 6th, 7:38pm</time><address><a>Abdullah Imran</a>Abdullah Imran works as an Associate Editor for All Sports at ClutchPoints. He’s been a sports fan his entire life and enjoys writing about every sport. He has spent three years in sports journalism and loves analyzing games. In his free time, he very much enjoys binge-watching shows and playing video games.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Francisco Giants <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/giants-claim-justin-dean-reiver-sanmartin-dfa-mason-black" rel="noopener">claimed 2025 World Series champion</a> outfielder Justin Dean from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, just days after he played a small but crucial role in helping <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-fans-cant-believe-game-7-world-series-comeback">LA win back-to-back titles</a>.</p><p>The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by the Dodgers to make room on their 40-man roster for outfielder Ryan Ward. San Francisco quickly claimed the speedy center fielder, who spent the 2025 season as a defensive specialist and pinch runner for Los Angeles. He appeared in 18 regular-season games, going 0-for-2 at the plate with a stolen base, while appearing in 13 postseason games exclusively in late-game defensive roles.</p><p>Though his offensive contributions were minimal, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/how-justin-dean-might-have-saved-dodgers-season">Dean’s defensive play became a turning point in Game 6 of the World Series</a> against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the ninth inning, with LA clinging to a narrow lead, Toronto outfielder Addison Barger ripped a drive to deep left-center that became lodged beneath the outfield padding.</p><p>Dean quickly raised his arms to signal a dead ball, an alert play that turned a potential inside-the-park home run into a ground-rule double. Two batters later, the Blue Jays’ rally ended on a double play, allowing Los Angeles to force Game 7, which they ultimately won.</p><p>Dean was a 17th-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2018 and spent seven years in their system. The Dodgers signed him to a minor league deal last December, and he responded with a productive year at Triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .289/.378/.431 with six home runs, 27 stolen bases, and an .809 OPS across 90 games.</p><p>With the Giants, Dean joins an outfield group featuring Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee, with competition from Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, and Jerar Encarnacion for regular at-bats. His defensive range and quickness could be a strong asset in Oracle Park’s expansive outfield.</p><p>Dean wasn’t San Francisco’s only roster move. The club also claimed left-handed reliever Reiver Sanmartin from the Cincinnati Reds and designated right-hander Mason Black for assignment to open roster space. Sanmartin, 29, is coming off a successful season at Triple-A Louisville, working to a 2.67 ERA across 67⅓ innings after returning from Tommy John surgery.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants make intriguing move on Dodgers’ World Series hero

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-reuniting-bruce-bochy-after-manager-hire');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants reuniting with Bruce Bochy after new manager hire');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Bruce-Bochy.jpg"><figcaption>Stan Szeto-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants reuniting with Bruce Bochy after new manager hire</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-05T19:23:44-08:00">November 5th, 7:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-05T19:42:00-08:00">November 5th, 7:42pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is a veteran editor and writer for print and digital media. He also created and oversaw video and event production departments for legacy media brands. Mike is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Francisco Giants shocked the baseball world last month when the team <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-mlb-hiring">hired Tony Vitello as its new manager</a>. It marked the first time a college baseball coach with no professional experience landed a job as a Major League manager.</p><p>While the move is unprecedented, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey is making sure Vitello has an <a href="https://x.com/TheAthleticMLB/status/1986249818273161656" rel="noopener">experienced support system</a> in place. Posey is hiring former Giants manager Bruce Bochy as a special assistant to the team, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.</p><p>Bochy won three World Series titles as the Giants’ manager from 2007-2019. He then won a fourth championship as the Texas Rangers’ skipper in 2023. Now Bochy is finalizing a deal to return to San Francisco in an advisory role.</p><h2><b>Giants hire Bruce Bochy as special assistant</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Bruce-Bochy-2.jpg"><figcaption>Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/texas-rangers/rangers-news-bruce-bochy-steps-down-manager">Bochy and the Rangers mutually parted ways</a> after the 2025 season. The veteran manager spent three years with Texas. After an unexpected World Series win in his debut, the Rangers missed the playoffs the last two seasons.</p><p>The Giants have missed the postseason for four straight years. The team has only qualified for the playoffs once in the last nine seasons. Posey, who took over baseball operations in San Francisco after the 2024 campaign, decided the Giants needed to try something new.</p><p>The former catcher hired the inexperienced Vitello as the club’s manager after firing Bob Melvin. But Posey is surrounding Vitello with valuable resources. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-san-francisco-hires-dusty-baker-intriguing-front-office-role">Giants hired Dusty Baker</a> as a special assistant last year. And now Bochy will join the front office.</p><p>Between them, Bochy and Baker have 54 years of experience as MLB managers. They boast a combined five World Series titles, 4,435 regular season wins and 22 playoff appearances.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants reuniting with Bruce Bochy after new manager hire

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-logan-webb-patrick-bailey-combine-for-rare-gold-glove-feat');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants’ Logan Webb, Patrick Bailey combine for rare Gold Glove feat');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Giants-Logan-Webb-and-Patrick-Bailey-walking-together.jpg"><figcaption>© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants’ Logan Webb, Patrick Bailey combine for rare Gold Glove feat</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-02T21:10:22-08:00">November 2nd, 9:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-02T21:10:22-08:00">November 2nd, 9:10pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-ig-welcome">San Francisco Giants fell just short</a> of their bid to make it to the postseason in 2025, and to make matters worse, they watched their archrival Los Angeles Dodgers stand tall yet again come the end of October, as they outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series in seven games.</p><p>The Giants, one would think, will be facing yet another uphill battle in the NL West heading into the 2026 season. The Dodgers are once again well-positioned to reign supreme over their peers, after all. But San Francisco has plenty of building blocks that should allow them to at least mount a challenge. They should not look further than their number one battery pairing, with ace Logan Webb and catcher Patrick Bailey combining for an impressive feat.</p><p>With the end of the 2025 MLB season comes the announcement of the winners of the Gold Glove awards, and both Webb and Bailey stood tall as the best in their position on the defensive side of the ball. This <a href="https://x.com/MLBStats/status/1985163999663501461" rel="noopener">made them the first</a> teammates to win Gold Glove at pitcher and catcher, respectively, since Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina did so for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013, as per MLB Stats on X (formerly Twitter).</p><p>Moreover, they became just the eighth pitcher-catcher duo to win Gold Glove in the same season. Both Webb and Bailey get it done for the Giants on defense, and they’re not too shabby in the other facets of the game as well. Having these two as building blocks should give the Giants a relatively high floor of productivity.</p><p>Nonetheless, what the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/1-free-agent-giants-must-pursue-offseason">Giants need is something</a> to help them get over the hump. Can they finally grab the missing pieces to help fuel a potential postseason push — and a potential bid to dethrone the Dodgers?</p><h2><b>Logan Webb, Patrick Bailey need help to lead the Giants to the promised land</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Logan-Webb.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><p>The Giants have plenty of talent up and down the roster. Willy Adames and Matt Chapman are incredible infielders to have, and Bailey, just to put in perspective how elite of a catcher he is, was worth 3.2 fWAR last season even though he couldn’t hit a lick. Rafael Devers should have a better 2026 season as he settles in San Francisco.</p><p>Webb was brilliant in fronting the rotation in 2025, recording a season worth 5.5 fWAR. Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander were solid mid-rotation pieces. But the Giants’ bullpen and the rest of their rotation needs a lot of work, still.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants’ Logan Webb, Patrick Bailey combine for rare Gold Glove feat

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-ig-welcome');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants manager Tony Vitello’s 5-word IG welcome has fans buzzing');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Tony-Vitello-2.jpg"><figcaption>© Jamar Coach/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants manager Tony Vitello’s 5-word IG welcome has fans buzzing</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-30T20:50:41-07:00">October 30th, 8:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-30T20:50:41-07:00">October 30th, 8:50pm</time><address><a>Josh Davis</a>Josh Davis is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints with a focus on MLB. As the founder and creator of OutOfSightSports, Josh spearheads the development and expansion of an engaging social media platform, with a core focus on Twitter/X. A passionate sports writer, Josh is dedicated to delivering compelling content that connects fans and fuels vibrant sports conversations. His vision is to craft stories so vivid that fans feel like they’re standing at the plate or on the field.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Francisco Giants ushered in a new era on Thursday. After another disappointing 81-81 finish in 2025, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-buster-posey-explains-tony-vitello-hiring">Giants officially introduced Tony Vitello</a> as the team’s new manager. The move immediately generated buzz. President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey made a monumental choice. He hired Vitello directly from the University of Tennessee. This hire makes Vitello the first college baseball coach to jump straight to a major league skipper role. The urgency for change was palpable after the club missed the playoffs again. Posey signaled a philosophy shift, prioritizing culture over conventional experience.</p><p>The 47-year-old’s arrival instantly energized a fan base hungry for direction. The dugout presence and player-focused approach he brings to the organization signals a refreshing shift for a franchise long defined by structure, tradition, and restraint.</p><p>The excitement surrounding the unconventional hire reached a fever pitch online. The organization took to its official Instagram page to send a short, impactful message to the bay area. They provided a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DQcr_0EEl9j/?e=ecf4b212-6af8-4058-9563-5c595192a91a&amp;g=5" rel="noopener">welcoming introduction</a> to the new Giants manager just ahead of his press conference.</p><p>“San Francisco, meet Tony Vitello 👏”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DQcr_0EEl9j/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p></p></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DQcr_0EEl9j/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by San Francisco Giants (@sfgiants)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>The five-word post quickly gained over fourteen thousand likes within hours. Fans instantly responded to the aggressive, confident tone. The choice by Posey represents a historic gamble. Vitello, a successful college baseball coach, is the first manager believed to bypass the entire minor league system in this fashion.</p><p>The unconventional hire carries tremendous weight, but its risk is mitigated by his remarkable development record. Before arriving in San Francisco, he turned Tennessee baseball into a national powerhouse. The Volunteers hadn’t reached the NCAA Tournament in more than a decade before his arrival, yet under his leadership they made three College World Series appearances in four years and captured their first national championship in 2024. His program posted a .722 winning percentage over eight seasons — proof of his ability to build and sustain success.</p><p>Now, the question shifts from “why him?” to “how far can he take them?” The club is betting that his energy, player-first approach, and relentless culture-building will translate to the big leagues. If it does, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-mlb-hiring">Vitello won’t just redefine the Giants</a> — he’ll redefine what’s possible for modern baseball leaders.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants manager Tony Vitello’s 5-word IG welcome has fans buzzing

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-buster-posey-tony-vitello-2014-world-series');   ga('set', 'title', 'Buster Posey, Tony Vitello share laugh about 2014 World Series nostalgia');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Tony-Vitello_2f3030.jpg"><figcaption>Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Buster Posey, Tony Vitello share laugh about 2014 World Series nostalgia</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-30T15:52:28-07:00">October 30th, 3:52pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-30T17:29:18-07:00">October 30th, 5:29pm</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There’s no way to question Tony Vitello’s enthusiasm after being <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-vitello-to-make-highest-salary-ever-for-1st-year-mlb-manager">hired as the new manager</a> of the San Francisco Giants. Not only is he the new manager, but he is also the first college coach to be at the helm of a major league club.</p><p>He is coming off <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-breaks-silence-leaving-tennessee-san-francisco">being a successful manager</a> at the University of Tennessee.</p><p>On Thursday, Vitello was introduced during his first press conference in San Francisco. While there, he was joined by former Giants catcher turned Buster Posey and <a href="https://x.com/NBCSGiants/status/1983963832901882047" rel="noopener">reflected upon a significant moment</a> in franchise history, per SF Giants on NBCS.</p><p>Vitello brought up that he was at the seventh game of the 2014 World Series. Specifically, he remembers Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals securing a triple in the 9th inning. Gordon hit the ball to left field, and the ball was bobbled, leading Gordon to go to third.</p><p>However, Gordon was halted at third and didn’t score when he was the tying run. Afterward, the Giants won Game 7 3-2 and their third title in five years.</p><p>When Vitello brought up that moment, Posey responded with a few words that garnered a chuckle.</p><p>“I’ll second that.” Posey said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Vitello was at Game 7 of the 2014 World Series and recalled how intense it was after Alex Gordon's triple in the ninth. </p><p>Buster: "I'll second that" 😂 <a href="https://t.co/WiK2LIJy79">pic.twitter.com/WiK2LIJy79</a></p><p>— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSGiants/status/1983963832901882047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>That was the last time that the Giants won the World Series. This past year, they finished at 81-81 and missed the postseason.</p><p>Vitello is coming in following the <a href="http://google.com/search?q=clutchpoints+bob+melvin+fired&amp;sca_esv=c2292d1d59604bd8&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS799US799&amp;sxsrf=AE3TifPJXhIeFHLcWy72QH29LRmrmaW39A%3A1761864191457&amp;ei=_-kDacncG7LIptQP3oy7-Qs&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiJ2JjK_8yQAxUypIkEHV7GLr8Q4dUDCBM&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=clutchpoints+bob+melvin+fired&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHWNsdXRjaHBvaW50cyBib2IgbWVsdmluIGZpcmVkMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUjwCVCZBFiECXABeACQAQCYAXygAYMEqgEDMy4yuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIGoAKqBMICCxAAGIAEGLADGKIEwgIIEAAYsAMY7wXCAgUQIRirApgDAIgGAZAGBZIHAzQuMqAHvxayBwMzLjK4B6UEwgcFMC4yLjTIBxU&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp">firing of Bob Melvin</a>.</p><h2><b>Buster Posey made a name for himself in the 2014 World Series </b></h2><p>It was during that World Series that Posey was a fixture at the plate and behind the plate. He was the starting catcher for virtually every game that October. On top of that, he was in the lineup batting third.</p><p>Altogether, Posey finished the series batting .182 (4-for-22) with 2 home runs, 7 RBIs, and four runs scored.</p><p>In the regular season, he batted .311 with 22 home runs and 89 RBIs while playing in 147 games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Buster Posey, Tony Vitello share laugh about 2014 World Series nostalgia

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-barry-bonds-willie-mays-tony-vitello-press-conference');   ga('set', 'title', 'Barry Bonds, Willie Mays among legends Tony Vitello mentioned in introductory press conference');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SAN-FR_1.jpg"><figcaption> © Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><h1>Barry Bonds, Willie Mays among legends Tony Vitello mentioned in introductory press conference</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-30T15:19:29-07:00">October 30th, 3:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-30T15:19:29-07:00">October 30th, 3:19pm</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Thursday, the San Francisco Giants <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-extremely-honest-admission-joining-san-francisco">officially introduced Tony Vitello</a> as their new manager. The now former manager at the University of Tennessee was gracious during his first press conference.</p><p>In the process, he <a href="https://x.com/KNBR/status/1983987680351555954" rel="noopener">gave shoutouts</a> to some of the greats who wore the orange and black, per KNBR. Among those greats he mentioned were Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.</p><p>“I’m fully aware of the tradition that’s here, Vitello said. “The excellence that’s been brought here by managers like Bochy, Dusty Baker. The toughness from guys like Bumgarner, Romo… the records that have been set by guys like Bonds and Mays and Lincecum.”</p><p>From 2018 to 2025, Vitello <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-tony-vitello-breaks-silence-leaving-tennessee-san-francisco">held the reins in Tennessee</a>. During that stretch, Vitello led the Volunteers to three College World Series appearances (2021, 2023, and 2024). In 2024, Tennessee won its first-ever College World Series.</p><p>Additionally, Vitello won two National Coach of the Year Awards in 2021 and 2022. This past year, Tennessee finished with a 46-19 record and won its second consecutive SEC title.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Giants finished with a record of 81-81. Afterward, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-fire-bob-melvin-after-missing-postseason">decided to fire Bob Melvin</a> as manager after missing the playoffs.</p><p>As a result, Vitello makes history as the first college manager to become an MLB manager.</p><h2><b>Tony Vitello’s appreciation of the Giants’ history speaks volumes</b></h2><p>Obviously, Vitello knew what he was getting into. For him to take time out to acknowledge a few of the best means a lot, especially Bonds and Mays.</p><p>Mays was the face of the Giants when they were in New York during a golden era in baseball. His five-tool playing style, combined with his effervescent personality, endeared him to many. Of course, his famous basket catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds is a legendary moment.</p><p>His godson, Barry Bonds, made quite a name for himself in the Giants organization. While a controversial figure, he has nevertheless become a more well-received personality.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Barry Bonds, Willie Mays among legends Tony Vitello mentioned in introductory press conference

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• Barry Bonds, Willie Mays among legends Tony Vitello mentioned in introductory press conference

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18	6	9	2	1	1

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	HOLDS	SAVES
18	6	9	2	1	1

Erik Miller

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Miller