This piece originally appeared in our twice-weekly sports newsletter Section 415. Sign up for the newsletter here and subscribe to the Section 415 podcast wherever you listen.
The Giants are searching for a manager, and nearly every person with even the slightest tie to Buster Posey has been mentioned as a candidate.
There are the former teammates, such as Nick Hundley, Curt Casali, and Mark DeRosa. There are the well-known former Giants assistants, such as Craig Albernaz, Ron Wotus, and Antoan Richardson. There are the out-of-work managers, such as Skip Schumacher, David Ross, and Rocco Baldelli.
From legendary Giants to up-and-coming college coaches and everyone in between, it might be easier to write about who isn’t a candidate.
Hello, Bruce Bochy.
Subscribe to Section 415
News, gossip, and inside-the-locker-room access for Bay Area sports fans, every Friday and Monday.
In all likelihood, Posey will hire someone who has been linked to the job at some point in the last week. If he doesn’t, here’s a not-so-comprehensive list of five candidates who haven’t been mentioned prominently elsewhere. (And if they have, please accept our apologies, it’s tough to keep up with all of these names.)
Andrew Bailey: Few coaches across MLB have achieved as much in recent years as Bailey, who was beloved as a Giants pitching coach and turned the Red Sox into a top-five staff in baseball. Under Bailey’s direction, Logan Webb emerged as an ace, Kevin Gausman resurrected his career, Alex Cobb turned in his best seasons since his mid-20s, and Anthony DeSclafani earned an All-Star nod. This season, Bailey helped Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman post the best numbers of their careers while the Boston bullpen finished with the second-best ERA in the majors.
Yadier Molina: Molina will manage Team Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic and says he wants to wait at least one year before considering big league jobs. Would he be willing to return to the dugout and work under a former rival? It’s possible Molina might want to coach or manage in St. Louis, given his longstanding ties to the organization, but the 10-time All-Star can always ask his brother Bengie for recommendations around San Francisco.
Jason Varitek: Before the start of the 2025 season, the Red Sox changed Varitek’s title. The “game-planning and catching coach” became the “game-planning and run prevention coach,” a switch reportedly made so that the three-time All-Star would be more involved in day-to-day strategy. Varitek, a former major league catcher with a couple of World Series rings, seemingly checks some important boxes. His identity as a player and coach is tied to the Red Sox, but if Varitek ever left Boston, he might do so to work for someone with Posey’s résumé.
David Bell: Bell never won more than 83 games in six seasons managing the Reds, and it’s easier to envision Posey hiring someone with no track record than someone with a track record of losing. Still, Bell is well-regarded, has worked in the Giants’ organization as a farm director, and is vice president of baseball operations for a Blue Jays club that has a clear identity and did more with less this season.
Jacob Heyward: There’s no way Posey would hire a 30-year-old manager who never reached the big leagues, right? Heyward, younger brother of former MLB All-Star Jason Heyward, might be a better fit as a bench coach or game-planning coordinator, but he was named the 2025 Arizona Complex League Manager of the Year for his work with the Giants’ rookie ball affiliate this summer. Heyward is a rising star inside the organization, and Posey should make sure he sticks around.