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When the San Francisco Giants made the unprecedented decision to hire Tony Vitello as their next manager, it was understood that there would be some hiccups along the way. There’s a learning curve for every first-time manager, and that’s doubly true for one attempting the unheard-of leap from college to the Majors with nary a day spent in professional baseball.

The sales pitch with Vitello was simple enough: his personality and people skills were so dynamic that they would propel him forward even while dealing with the requisite adjustments and bumps in the road as he blazed a trail in his new role. How he would manage a big league rotation and how he would adapt to an additional 100 games on the schedule were questions waiting to be answered; how he would present himself as a personality was not.

Which made Monday’s hiccup — his first since accepting the job — quite surprising. It didn’t come from mismanaging a bullpen, or mishandling bench deployment, or, heck, whatever the 2026 equivalent of pinch-hitting Mark Mathias for Brandon Crawford is. It came from the most surprising of places: a controlled environment, with some microphones and mild-mannered reporters in his face.

Less than one week after pitchers and catchers reported, Vitello opened his Monday media scrum not by fielding questions, but by asking one: “When did you first think I was taking this job?”

It was clear that the question was meant both rhetorically and for the group at large, though he seemed to pose it specifically to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser to ensure that someone actually answered him.

After Slusser responded with “about four days before it actually happened” — a reference to reporting from The Athletic that the Giants were “closing in on” hiring the then-Tennessee manager — Vitello had successfully created his opening. Now he could say what was on his mind. “It’s funny you say that,” he smirked, despite it being obvious that it was what Slusser would say. “Because that was not reality. At all.”

Vitello, who in fairness seemed jovial as usual while engaging in a half-monologue, half-conversation about what he deemed to be inaccurate reporting, certainly aired some grievances. While clarifying that he had not accepted the job at the time of The Athletic’s reporting (which, it should be noted, is in line with said reporting) Vitello offered up an ominous and fairly cryptic set of sentences: “Somebody tweeted it out. I don’t know who told them. I wish I did. It might have changed the course of history if I’d known who did.”

As is usually the case with reporting in sports, Vitello’s primary source of ire seemed to be that he wasn’t in control of his own narrative. “I did a really damn good job at keeping that away from our team, our recruiting, and it was not a distraction,” Vitello emphasized, suggesting he had taken meetings with the Giants without letting those around his college team find out. “And then all of a sudden in the middle of practice, I see our first and third base coaches freaking out. And they freaked out on me, too. And for no reason, because at that point nothing was gonna happen. And then somebody decided it that it was gonna happen, and then the whole world starts spinning real quick and I had to address the team.”

There was a lot in Vitello’s TED Talk that was understandable, but even more that was, frankly, odd. Most notable was that he performed the cardinal sin of Spring Training managers: he made himself the story.

At a time when platitudes and superlatives are as copious as bubble gum and sunflower seeds, the story this week has become Vitello. It stood in stark contrast to the last memorable time that a Giants manager eschewed questions and instead opened his Spring Training scrum with his own thoughts. That came a whole seven years ago, when a sheepish and slightly-uncomfortable Bruce Bochy announced that the upcoming season would be his final one in a Giants jersey; and while Bochy had, indeed, made himself the story on that day, he had quite clearly and openly done so to avoid being the story in the days that would follow.

That was not the case for Vitello who, four months after the offending action, opened a can of worms for seemingly no purpose at all. A point that could have been made at his introductory press conference, or during one of his many winter interviews, or, better yet, not at all, is now dominating the black and orange airwaves. At a time when we’re usually serving up best shape of his life clichés and excitedly discussing the battles for eighth reliever and fifth outfielder and second emergency starter, we’re instead not just talking about Vitello, but talking about a long-since buried story of his.

Vitello, like so many others in professional sports over the years, appeared upset at the media for an accurate report. His desire to control when his decisions are made public is very understandable, as is his ire at someone leaking the news prematurely. But those issues, of course, are not the fault of the journalists at The Athletic (national MLB reporters Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli, and Giants beat reporter Andrew Baggarly). The implication with such a complaint (and sometimes it’s an outward statement, rather than an implication) is that the media should be working with the players and coaches, rather than in opposition to them.

It’s there where the funny irony of the story comes in. While it is, of course, not the media’s job to do PR for the Giants, it is, inadvertently, much of what we do, especially this time of year. Every article and soundbite about Bryce Eldridge’s rising stardom, and Hayden Birdsong’s attempt to bounce back, and Harrison Bader’s defensive wizardry, and the battle for the backup catcher position only serves — even when objective and journalistically sound — to excite a fanbase that is then even more likely to purchase tickets, buy merch, tune into a game, and heck, maybe even hop online in a fit of spontaneity and see what the flight prices to Scottsdale look like.

I had an article planned for today about Giants players. I suspect Baggarly, Slusser, and the other beat reporters on the scene at Papago did, as well. Instead, we all wrote about Vitello. The KNBR airwaves, offering Giants nuggets not just to diehard fans but, perhaps more critically, to casual ones, have been dominated with talk about Vitello. Many of the takes are absurd, but they’re out there nonetheless, causing damage where there would otherwise be excitement.

On Tuesday, Vitello fielded a question about the prior day’s scrum, and noted that he had not received any friendly feedback on his comments from the front office, despite the employment of the notoriously even-keeled trio of Bochy, Buster Posey, and Dusty Baker. It would certainly seem he was being honest there, as he somewhat doubled-down on his sentiments, saying that he was “just stating facts.” He thankfully offered a clarification on his cryptic comment: while “it might have changed the course of history” seemed to imply that Vitello may have chosen a different path had he known who leaked the story, he said on Tuesday that it “has no real impact on the opportunity that was presented, and it wouldn’t have changed what Buster and I would have agreed and joined to do.”

That probably ends the story. It’s not like Vitello committed a fireable offense or, despite what the online masses may have you believe, did something that should make you question his ability to be a good big league manager.

But it was an unforced error. The Giants have had a lot of those over the last half-decade, on and off the field. The hope was that Vitello would help them have fewer. For now, it remains exactly that: the hope.

PHOENIX –– In his annual start-of-the-spring address to his Dodger team on Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts delivered a simple message to the two-time defending World Series champions.

“I think for us it’s more about looking forward, focusing on ourselves and … not concerning us with outside expectations, noise, other teams,” he said. “That’s what we’ve done a pretty good job of in years past.”

Then, Roberts invited the club’s two superstar offseason additions to speak to the room and drive home that message.

As has become a common theme in these team-wide spring meetings –– which take place on the morning of the club’s first full-squad workouts, which the Dodgers had on Tuesday –– the longtime skipper wanted his returning players to hear from the new faces in the clubhouse.

“It was just more about what made the Dodgers attractive to them,” Roberts explained. “I think it’s powerful for our guys to hear it from the other side, from somebody who hasn’t been here.”

This year, that meant speeches from Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz, each of whom explained why they wanted to sign with the Dodgers as free agents this winter.

Roberts said Tucker talked about watching “how the Dodgers go about things” while playing against them as a member of the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros over the last eight years, calling the franchise “a destination place.”

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Díaz echoed that sentiment when he got up to talk, joking that the Dodgers always “look pretty nice on the field” and how he “heard they treat every player the same inside the clubhouse.”

“That,” the new closer added while speaking to reporters later, “was one of the things I was looking for.”

The Dodgers hope that a scene like Tuesday’s will serve as a tone-setter ahead of their three-peat pursuit this year. Simply signing big names like Tucker (the $240 million outfielder) and Diaz (the $69 million right-hander) served as a source of reinvigoration for the club this offseason. But hearing their perspectives of the team for the first time was “refreshing,” veteran third baseman and longest tenured Dodger Max Muncy said.

“Not that anyone in this room ever forgets, but (when) they talk about how good the organization is from the outside, from what they see and what they hear, just things about how the front office and the staff treats the players and the families –– (it’s a reminder that) we have it really good here,” Muncy said.

There’s another important dynamic, too.

“Then you get that little extra hunger from guys who want to go out there and win a ring,” Muncy added. “It keeps everyone else in here hungry, because you just start feeding off each other. And when it’s time to go out there and it’s go time, everyone’s ready to go.”

For these Dodgers, it won’t be “go time” for a little while still.

Unlike the past two years, the team has no early start or season-opening international trip. And while they will send five players to next month’s World Baseball Classic (including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Will Smith, Hyeseong Kim and Díaz), they will use this spring to slowly build up many of their other veterans after a short offseason (namely, Muncy, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, whom Roberts said will likely not be playing in Cactus League games right away).

“It’s just about preparation,” said Betts, recounting the message he shared as one of several longtime Dodgers to talk at Tuesday’s meeting, along with Miguel Rojas and Will Smith. “Our confidence is gonna come with our preparation.”

Tuesday, however, was about setting bigger-picture expectations, too, and reminding both the club’s returning core and new star players about the opportunity in front of them.

“It’s just trying to sustain that energy, that focus every day,” Roberts said, reiterating his clubhouse message. “Put those blinders on and get to work.”

As has become a common theme in these team-wide spring meetings –– which take place on the morning of the club’s first full-squad workouts, which the Dodgers had on Tuesday –– the longtime skipper wanted his returning players to hear from the new faces in the clubhouse.

“It was just more about what made the Dodgers attractive to them,” Roberts explained. “I think it’s powerful for our guys to hear it from the other side, from somebody who hasn’t been here.”

While the Yankees have entered spring training under the impression Anthony Volpe will miss all of April recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, the young shortstop is aiming for an earlier return.

Just a day after beginning his hitting progression with dry swings, Volpe sounded optimistic about playing in April, calling the timeline "definitely" possible while also not committing to a date for his 2026 debut.

"My body’s ready to go," Volpe said on Tuesday in Tampa. "I started my hitting progression, so other than that, I mean, I'm full go. My body's ready to go defensively and running, so the hitting will be what we work through next and judging on how everything's gone so far, I'm just excited."

The partially torn labrum on Volpe's left shoulder was repaired in October, and while the issue was cleaned up successfully, his doctors were surprised to see the damage was actually worse than what imaging showed.

Volpe doesn't believe the shoulder injury -- suffered last May -- was largely responsible for his regression-filled 2025 campaign, in which he slashed a woeful .212/.272/.391 with 19 home runs and 150 strikeouts across 153 games.

He continues to make no excuses for last season's low production, and the recovery process has helped him learn how to improve communication with the club and stay honest with himself.

"I know I could've played better, I felt strong and good enough to go. If I didn't, I mean, I wouldn't have," Volpe said. "You learn a lot about the mindset and how you've got to be self-aware, aware of certain things going on. And how to, if you're going to play through, perform and do the best you can."

Volpe described the early stages of rehab as "rock bottom" physically, and he didn't start to feel over the hump in his offseason work until more baseball activities around the new year.

The next step in Volpe's progression will be tee work, followed by soft toss. He'll make sure landing on the shoulder is the last hurdle cleared, since a diving defensive play against the Rays at Yankee Stadium caused the "pop" that prompted two cortisone shots last season.

In the meantime, Volpe is trusting the training staff's plan, no matter how long utilityman Jose Caballero and others hold down the fort at shortstop. Volpe claims there's always been "a chip on his shoulder" -- apparently, doctors missed that during imaging, too.

"I just can't wait to go back out there, play, feel good, perform, and help the team win," Volpe said. "Because at the end of the day, if I do that and I play the way I can play, everything will take care of itself and I appreciate everything. I appreciate the accountability."

PORT ST. LUCIE - So the Mets are being proactive with Luis Robert Jr., drilling down on the causes for his chronic leg injuries, and intending to keep him out of games while their medical and sports performance people work to “straighten out” some of the reasons that have kept him from achieving his potential. 

It speaks to the gamble they’re taking on Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox for his $20 million salary, as well as the frustration of trying to keep such a high-ceiling athlete off the injured list. 

But it’s also a good thing, especially in this day and age when there is so much science and technology applied to the cause and prevention of injuries. 

All the more so in the case of the Mets.  

It wasn’t too many years ago, remember, when the Mets were heavily criticized for their handling of injuries, either for being too slow to react or for somehow making injuries worse with treatment. 

With that in mind, after listening to Carlos Mendoza announce the “progression” plan for Robert, as well as three other players, I put in a call to Jim Duquette, the SNY analyst and former Mets GM. 

He’d seen the Robert Jr. news as well, and so when he saw I was calling, he answered his phone by saying with a laugh: 

“I know why you’re calling. Jose Reyes?”

“Sorry, Jim,” I said, laughing a bit myself. “It’s the first thing I thought of.”

Duquette, after all, was the assistant GM to Steve Phillips in 2003 when the Mets became so perplexed by Reyes’ recurring hamstring injuries and an examination revealing that one leg was shorter than the other, that they deferred to track and field experts who tried to change Reyes’ running style. 

“We were going with the experts in the field of sprinting,” Duquette recalled. “But it didn’t work. Jose wasn’t comfortable with it and eventually went back to his old style. These days, they probably would have realized it was a hip issue that was causing the difference in leg length and treated it from there. 

“I mean, as an industry, baseball is light years ahead of where we were then in terms of sports medicine and science. Actually, I like what the Mets are doing. The White Sox have not been a forward-thinking organization. They’ve been old-school, where the Mets have become very forward-thinking with this stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get a good result from what they’re doing. It’s smart because Robert has incredible skill when he’s right. He just hasn’t been able to stay healthy.”

Duquette, by the way, reminded me that he was gone from the Mets by the time they put Ryan Church on a cross-country flight with a concussion, another rather infamous injury of the many that seemed to become full-blown controversies over a period of several years. 

But as Duquette pointed out, this is a much different organization these days.

For that matter, as one Mets person told me, “Steve (Cohen) doesn’t just spend on players. When he took over, he invested in making every facet of the organization top-notch, and sports science and performance was a big part of that.”

That said, you can make the case that injuries are more of an issue in all sports than ever these days, though a lot of baseball people believe that’s mostly a byproduct of the modern athlete building their body to the limit and stressing it to the extreme.

And there’s probably a lot of truth to that as well. Duquette, for example, noted that what helped Reyes eventually avoid chronic hamstring injuries, and thus rack up 517 stolen bases over a 16-year career, was that “he learned how to run, and run fast, without going max effort all the time.”

More recently, the Mets’ new emphasis on injury prevention has paid off in helping keep the once-chronically injured Brandon Nimmo relatively healthy, in part by bringing him along slowly in spring training as they will now with Robert Jr.

They’re taking similar caution with Jorge Polanco, wanting him to strengthen a knee that had surgery in 2024, as well as Brett Baty, who tweaked a hamstring while working out before camp opened, and Francisco Alvarez, in hoping to avoid the various hand and wrist injuries that have plagued him the last couple of years.

But the headliner is Robert Jr., mostly because the Mets are hoping he’ll stay healthy enough to reach the potential that made him an All-Star in 2023.

“The tools are there,” Mendoza said. “He’s got a chance to do something special if he can stay healthy. When we traded for him, our trainers put their hands on him and identified some of the things, especially in the lower half, that needed to be straightened out.

“He’s going through full workouts, he’s going to be getting live at-bats, but as far as putting him in game settings when he has to full-go, whether it’s beating out a ground ball…we’re not going to put him in there out of the gate.”

Robert Jr. is on board, and why not? He believes, as he said in a media interview, that injuries are the primary reason his numbers have fallen off dramatically since his 38-home runs season in 2023, when he made the AL All-Star team.

“Health, that’s the No. 1 thing,” he said. “If I stay on the field as consistently as I can, I know things will go the way I want.”

He offered evidence of that last summer, when the Mets were interested in trading for him, only to be put off by the asking price.

Over 31 games in July and August, Robert slashed .298/.352/.456 with five home runs, 18 RBI, 24 runs scored and 11 stolen bases, resembling his 2023 form.

Then he suffered another hamstring injury, severe enough that it ended his season. The Mets are hoping they can change all of that, and their own injury history as well.

No offense, Jim.

With Tommy Edman opening the season on the injured list, Hyeseong Kim is a prime candidate to see an uptick in playing time at second base for the Dodgers in the coming season. On Tuesday, he further solidified his case.

With teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto throwing a live batting practice session on the backfields at Camelback Ranch, Kim took the World Series MVP on an unexpected ride. On the 16th pitch of Yamamoto’s live batting practice, Kim crushed an opposite-field home run, dazzling the hundreds of Dodgers fans gathered to watch the team ready itself for its first slate of exhibition games that begin Saturday.

Kim’s home run came after watching Yamamoto walk Teoscar Hernández, induce a groundball from Andy Pages, and strike out newcomer Kyle Tucker looking. However, Kim wasn’t finished quite yet.

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Hyeseong Kim just CRUSHED an opposite field homer off of World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto in live BP at Dodgers Spring Training camp. pic.twitter.com/g92ernHvKt

— Jack Vita (@JackVitaShow) February 17, 2026

Yamamoto took a short break, as Shohei Ohtani threw a round of batting practice himself. After Ohtani got his work in, Yamamoto returned to the mound, with Kim waiting for him in the batter’s box.

On the fifth pitch of his second at-bat versus Yamamoto, Kim ripped a base hit to right field. Yamamoto would see eight at bats on the day, logging 30 pitches. He gave up three hits, two of which came from Kim.

Kim said he tweaked his swing last year after coming over from the KBO on a three-year, $12.5-million contract, and is continuing to progress and feel more comfortable with the adjustments he’s made.

“The swing changes we made last year, I would say I felt about 70% comfortable with,” Kim said through an interpreter on Monday. “And then, this offseason and spring training, we were able to recognize some of the other stuff that we needed to work on, so I’m working very hard to make those changes again this year.”

As a rookie, he batted .280 with a .314 on base percentage, .699 OPS, three home runs and 17 RBI across 71 games. He began the season in triple A, before earning a promotion in May. A left shoulder injury would land him on the injured list, limiting his time in his first big league season — though he was healthy enough to be on the team's postseason roster primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement, playing second base when the Dodgers closed out their Game 7 World Series victory.

Read more:'Game 7 of the World Series was unbelievable': Miguel Rojas on his unexpected stardom

Kim also mixed in 17 games in the outfield to provide depth behind Pages last season, and he knew his outfield defense would be an offseason priority.

“I was aware that I needed to work on my center field and outfield defense,” Kim said. “Even without the front office telling me, I knew that it was something I needed to work on, so I was going to work on it regardless.”

As he prepped for the coming season, Kim focused on his nutrition, upping his protein intake and adding some weight.

“I noticed that I lost a little bit of weight throughout the season and I wanted to make sure that I was gaining my weight back before the season started,” Kim said. “So, I made sure to intake my proteins and my meals so that I was able to gain two-three kilograms this offseason.”

With the news that Edman is still on the mend from offseason ankle surgery, Kim stands to benefit in terms of playing time but he says he's not getting ahead of himself.

“I’m using this time — the offseason and spring training — to just get better,” Kim said. “Whether I play more or not, it doesn’t really affect me much. I’m just trying to get better every day.”

Roberts manages expectations as he addresses team

On the Dodgers’ first day of full-squad workouts, manager Dave Roberts addressed his entire team for the first time Tuesday. Roberts opened with a speech, before players took turns talking.

“I was just kind of talking a little bit about last year and what we accomplished and how we got there, and talking about this year and expectations,” Roberts said. “And a lot of it is the same, continuing to focus on the right things, the little things, and how we go about practicing and playing. Keeping that enthusiasm and buckling up for the long season ahead and we expect to play through October. So, a lot of the same values that we believe in just reiterated.”

Once Roberts finished, his players shared some thoughts of their own. Veterans Miguel Rojas, Will Smith and Mookie Betts were among those to give a speech. Recently acquired stars Tucker and Edwin Díaz also chimed in, discussing why they each made Los Angeles their new home.

Read more:Photos: Shohei Ohtani and World Series champion Dodgers work out at spring training

“It was more just about what made the Dodgers attractive to them,” Roberts said. “I think it’s powerful for our guys to hear it from the other side, from somebody who hasn’t been here. It was a great message from each of those guys. It’s important. It’s powerful for our players to hear from each other.”

And thus, the quest for a three-peat has begun.

“I feel good,” Roberts said. “I’m excited. Our players are excited, coaches are excited. It’s good to get everyone together and start our journey for 2026. I think there’s always optimism early, like every camp. So now, it’s just trying to sustain that energy, that focus every day. Just put those blinders on and stay focused."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.