Category: Sports News

Giants' Tony Vitello hire is ‘insulting' to former MLB manager Joe Maddon originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants are taking a risk with their historic hire of Tony Vitello as their next manager, and not everyone loves the move.

Specifically, former MLB manager Joe Maddon, who joined KNBR 680’s “Murph & Markus” on Tuesday and explained why he was insulted by San Francisco’s decision to hire a manager straight from the collegiate level.

“Quite frankly, I’m using the word ‘insulting’ only from the perspective that you don’t have to have any kind of experience on a professional level to do this job anymore,” Maddon said. “Because when I was coming up, you had to have all that, you had to go through the minor leagues, you had to ride your buses. I was a scout, I started in 1981, I finally get a managerial job in 2006. There was a rite of passage, a method to get to that point. So to think somebody can just do what you took 20-some years to be considered qualified to, it is kind of insulting.”

Maddon then proceeded to wish Vitello well while oddly comparing the new Giants manager’s lack of MLB experience to other high-profile jobs around the country that are being filled by candidates who might not have the traditional experience in their respective fields, including New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

“Now, having said that, the next part is, I wish him nothing but the best, because I watch videos of the guy and I can actually understand why it’s perceived that he’s ready to do something like this,” Maddon added. “I guess the overarching point is, in today’s world, prerequisites to get jobs of this caliber, even jobs like the Mayor job of New York City now, it doesn’t require the years of experience that you may have had to have gone through in the past.

“I think communication skills, perceived leadership skills, those are the kind of things that become more valid or important and not necessarily having kind of like, internal knowledge, working knowledge of the craft at hand, which would be Major League Baseball or running a city. It’s not just baseball, it permeates throughout the entire world right now.”

Maddon then was asked if Vitello’s hire is a good or bad thing for baseball moving forward.

“I don’t think it’s either, I just think it’s baseball,” Maddon explained. “It’s going to be a good thing for the Giants if it works out well, which honestly, I am rooting for him. I didn’t know of him until he was hired and then I started looking at videos and then I said ‘Oh, I get it. I understand why.'”

Does he?

It’s safe to assume neither Vitello nor the Giants care.

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The easiest and cleanest way for the Mets to add a top-of-the-rotation starter to their staff this offseason is to turn to the free agent market, where the headliners are Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Ranger Suarez.

Ahead of his age-32 season, Valdez is the oldest of the available top starters. And he'll be seeking a huge deal.

King, who will be entering his age-31 season in 2026, was tremendous for the Padres in 2024 as he transitioned from relieving to starting. But he made just 15 starts in 2025 as he dealt with a nerve injury in his throwing shoulder and also lost time due to a knee injury.

Suarez, who turned 30 in August, might be the safest bet -- but he's also the least imposing. He has allowed 8.6 hits per nine during his eight-year career, is not a big strikeout guy, and has never thrown 158 innings or more in a season.

Then there's Cease, whose upside is sky high.

Entering his age-30 season, Cease has finished in the top-four in Cy Young voting two of the last four seasons. And he eats tons of innings. However, he's coming off a campaign where he had a 4.55 ERA, and has been maddeningly inconsistent.

With Suarez not an ideal fit, Valdez in line for a monster contract, King having serious injury concerns, and the up and down Cease possibly looking at a deal as long as six years, could a trade make the most sense for the Mets?

And if so, should Brewers ace Freddy Peralta be near the top of New York's list?

Here are the pros and cons of dealing for Peralta... 

PROS

Peralta is coming off a phenomenal 2025 season, where he had a career-best 2.70 ERA in 176.2 innings. He posted a 1.07 WHIP, allowed just 124 hits, and struck out 204 batters -- a rate of 10.4 per nine.

Since transitioning in 2021 from mainly a relief option to the starting rotation, Peralta has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. 

In 139 starts over the last five years, Peralta has a 3.30 ERA and 1.09 WHIP and has fanned 895 batters in 738.1 innings while allowing just 536 hits. He has also been reliable when it comes to taking the ball, tossing 165.2 innings or more reach of the last three seasons..

His ability to miss bats and limit hits is elite, as is his stuff. 

Peralta relies mainly on a four-seam fastball (which he threw 53 percent of the time this past season), a changeup, and a curve. He'll also mix in a slider.

In 2025, his pitching run value graded out in the 97th percentile, via Baseball Savant. And all of his individual pitches were tremendous -- the fastball was in the 84th percentile, the breaking balls were in the 88th percentile, and the changeup was in the 96th percentile. 

Looking at Peralta's advanced metrics, he was near the top of the league in xERA, xBA, average exit velocity, whiff percentage, strikeout percentage, hard hit percentage, and extension.

Peralta is also almost unbelievably inexpensive, set to make just $8 million in 2026 in what is his final year before free agency. 

CONS

There is no guarantee the Brewers will trade Peralta, so the Mets hitching their wagon to that possibility could be fruitless.

But the Brewers have often dealt players who are entering their walk year, and in some cases have traded key players with more team control than that.

They traded pending free agent Corbin Burnes during the 2023-24 offseason and pending free agent Devin Williams last offseason. At the 2022 trade deadline, the Brewers dealt Josh Hader to the Padres when he still had a year and change of team control remaining.

If Milwaukee makes Peralta available, though, it could cost a ton to acquire him.

It's very rare to be able to get a pitcher of Peralta's caliber on such a team-friendly contract, meaning it will likely require the Mets parting with a package of players it would pain them to surrender.

There's also the risk of giving up a huge package for what could amount to just one year of Peralta's services.

Looking at Peralta the pitcher, there really aren't many red flags.

His walk rate is a tick high and he doesn't induce many ground balls. But that's pretty much it. 

VERDICT

David Stearns is obviously very familiar with Peralta from his time with Milwaukee, which can't hurt. 

And if the Mets are unable to pry Tarik Skubal from the Tigers, Peralta -- or Joe Ryan of the Twins, or Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins -- should be the fallback plan.

Giants trade Mason Black to Royals for right-handed pitcher Logan Martin originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LAS VEGAS — The annual General Managers Meetings mostly are about laying the groundwork for moves that might happen later in the offseason, but the Giants made a minor trade Tuesday on the first full day of the event in Las Vegas. 

San Francisco acquired right-handed pitching prospect Logan Martin from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-hander Mason Black, who had been designated for assignment last week after a couple of waiver claims. Black will get an opportunity to try and contribute in the American League, while the Giants get a 24-year-old who does not have to take up a spot on their 40-man roster and potentially can help down the line. 

“We had to make a decision on Mason and we’re fortunate to get an arm-strength starter back in the system,” general manager Zack Minasian said Tuesday morning. 

Martin, a 12th-rounder out of Kentucky in 2023, pitched in High-A last season, posting a 3.45 ERA across 22 starts. He has a 3.49 ERA in three minor-league seasons, although his strikeout rate has dipped in Single-A. Martin, who relies primarily on a mid-90s four-seamer and a cutter, currently is pitching in the Arizona Fall League.

The Giants have tried to add young pitching in every deal over the past year and plan to be aggressive in adding depth at all levels this offseason. At the same time as they DFA’d Black, who struggled in his big-league stints, they acquired lefty reliever Reiver Sanmartin from the Cincinnati Reds and outfielder Justin Dean from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Those two waiver claims were the first for the organization since before the 2025 season. Minasian said the front office liked Sanmartin’s versatility and noted he has big-league experience. Dean joins a crowded outfield group on the 40-man roster, but the Giants consider him to be the best defender of the group and the fastest baserunner. Minasian said adding a lefty relief option and potential bench outfielder “felt like two things that fit the roster at this time.”

“We’re happy to have him on,” he said of Dean, who appeared in the World Series with the Dodgers. “We’ll see what he can do in Arizona (next spring).”

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