Bob Melvin’s future unsettled as Giants finish season .500

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First-year Giants Willy Adames and Rafael Devers hit home runs, veterans Logan Webb and Wilmer Flores received emotional ovations, and rookies Bryce Eldridge and Drew Gilbert collected their teammates’ autographs on batting helmets postgame.

As season finales go, at least for .500 teams such as the Giants, Sunday’s was as good as it gets. The team’s new hands made history, and its old hands got to tip their caps. Yet beyond San Francisco’s 4-0 win to finish the season 81-81, there’s trepidation. 

Well-wishes for the winter came under a cloud of uncertainty. The front office made no announcement about the fate of manager Bob Melvin and his coaching staff. Rather than putting an end to speculation about Melvin’s future, management chose to let it linger at least a day — and let the skipper and players do all the talking.  

In his postgame news conference, after speaking glowingly about his players’ performances during the day and how the Giants rallied to win their final four games to finish with a .500 record, Melvin was asked if he received assurance about coming back next year.

“No,” he said.

What were his thoughts?

“It is what it is,” he said. “We’ll see what the next day brings.”

Melvin shared that he will be talking with “somebody” in the front office on Monday. President of baseball operations Buster Posey exercised Melvin’s 2026 option in early July, assuring that he’ll remain under contract for another year, but Posey has been silent on the subject for weeks.

Throughout the season, players have taken accountability for the team’s mediocre play, never pointing fingers at the manager, and they were right. Melvin gets along with others, didn’t lose the clubhouse as his predecessor, Gabe Kapler, did, and has 22 years of managerial experience to aid his decision-making. It’s not like this team was expected to make the playoffs; they were universally chosen to finish fourth in the National League West, and they wound up third.

Expectations increased after the mid-June acquisition of Devers, but he didn’t make an immediate impact. Coupled with Adames’ slow start, the Giants found themselves ebbing and flowing their way through the season, one of the streakiest displays in their history.

Midseason, Posey blamed himself and said, “It shouldn’t be on our manager or coaching staff. I’m the one who sets the roster.”

Sunday, as players packed their belongings and prepared to move on from baseball, they provided an assortment of opinions about Melvin.

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

After Webb’s penultimate start, he made comments – saying Posey was not OK with the losing – that some folks on the airwaves and social media irresponsibly took out of context and implied he was suggesting Melvin should be gone. That day, Webb told The Standard the comments weren’t at all a reflection of Melvin or the staff and that he wanted Melvin to return: “Yeah, 100%.”

Sunday, Webb reiterated those thoughts: “I know I said some things last time, and I think they got misconstrued. They (had) nothing to do with BoMel.”

It’s no secret that third baseman Matt Chapman adores Melvin, who managed him in seven of his nine big-league seasons.

“He’s done the best with what we’ve given him, the players,” Chapman said. “A lot of us probably didn’t play to our capabilities. If you ask guys in this room, I think they’d say they wish they would’ve been able to play a little better, more consistent. I think he never turns his back on us and always has our back. So I’ve got nothing but good things to say about BoMel, and obviously I love him.”

In a separate interview, Chapman added, “I don’t think it’s BoMel’s fault we missed the playoffs. It’s the players’ fault. We needed to play better, unfortunately.”

Adames said of Melvin, “I think he’s great for us.” The shortstop added, “We either played great or terrible. Sometimes it’s tough when you have a team like that. I think he was really good. Whatever happens, I’m always going to be thankful for having him here. I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

Does Adames hope Melvin comes back?

“That’s not my decision,” he said. “Whatever Buster thinks.”

If Posey and Co. make a managerial change, they’d need to be fully confident they can find someone who will pilot this team into the postseason, and no excuses. One prominent person in the organization said all things considered, Melvin did a nice job getting this team to .500.

Even with Adames and Devers, the roster had plenty of flaws, especially after Posey traded three veterans at the deadline including relievers Camilo Doval and Trevor Rogers. That Randy Rodriguez and Erik Miller sustained season-ending injuries further hamstrung Melvin’s bullpen choices. The rotation had just three trusted pitchers in the end, and one was Robbie Ray, who struggled down the stretch.

While stars are in place at first base (Devers), shortstop (Adames), third base (Matt Chapman) and the rotation (Webb, Ray), depth is an issue. More star power is needed. More durable arms are needed. More contact hitters are needed. An improved defense would help. So would a better running game.

Aside from the managerial drama, Sunday was festive. Adames became the first Giant since Barry Bonds in 2004 to record 30 homers in a season, and he hit No. 30 on the first pitch he saw — as the leadoff hitter. Shortly before the game, Adames and Heliot Ramos flip-flopped in the lineup so Adames could hit first.

Webb became the first Giants pitcher since Bill Voiselle in 1944 to lead the league in both innings (224) and strikeouts (207). And Devers became the third Giant to play more than 162 games (he played 163 between Boston and San Francisco) following Willie Montañez (163) in 1976 and José Pagán (164) in 1962.

Melvin let Webb retire one batter in the sixth inning before replacing him to assure he’d get a standing ovation from the sellout crowd. Melvin also made sure Flores, likely playing in his final game as a Giant, would get huge applause – Eldridge ran out to replace him at first base in the third inning.

Classy gestures by the manager.