Offensive shortcomings, bullpen surprise and more: Evaluating SF Giants' and Vitello's first month
PHILADELPHIA - Tony Vitello is a self-proclaimed rambler. He's plenty capable of rattling off impromptu, off-the-cuff answers that easily clear the minute threshold. But on Thursday night, fresh off taking two walk-off losses in one day to finish April, Vitello only had six words to summarize the Giants' first month-and-change of baseball.
"Not good enough," Vitello said, "on everybody's part."
Blunt? Sure. Accurate? Definitely.
Entering May, the Giants are 13-18 and sit in last place in the NL West after being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies, a deflating three games in the City of Brotherly Love that snapped their three-series winning streak. They've had glimpses of excellence, but they've been just that - glimpses.
This team, one with postseason ambitions, has underperformed. More concerningly, there isn’t one area where they’ve been truly excellent. That includes the managerial position. Vitello, who's making the jump straight from college to the pros, has been generally fine in his rookie season, but it’s impossible to ignore the lowlights and gaffes.
If there has been one area with this team that has been especially jarring throughout 31 games, it's been this team's …
Offensive shortcomings
Let's call it like it is: The Giants' offense has been the most disappointing singular department of this team, and it's not particularly close.
San Francisco's offense is filled with streaky hitters opposed to metronomes, and at any given point of the season so far, more of them have been hot than cold. It's why the Giants rank last in the majors in runs per game (3.35), home runs (19) and walks (66), as well as 29th in OPS (.657). They’ve also been shut out six times, the most in the majors.
Even when looking under the hood, there just aren't that many departments where there's reason for optimism. As a collective, this group ranks 19th in average exit velocity, 24th in barrels per plate appearance and 25th in hard-hit rate.
San Francisco's anemic offense has been due in large part to …
Rafael Devers' extended struggles
Devers is the foundation of this offense: point, blank, period. For the Giants to hit their ceiling, both as an offense and as a team, Devers needs to look the part of the three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner he was with the Boston Red Sox. So far, he instead looks like one of the worst regulars in baseball.
The Giants' highest-paid player ended March/April with a .537 OPS, the second-lowest mark of any individual month in his career. His -0.8 WAR, by FanGraphs' calculation, is the second-lowest in the majors.
It's not just the lack of output that's concerning, but the totality of his offensive profile. His walk rate has cratered, while his chase rate has skyrocketed. He keeps getting attacked by fastballs because he's not hitting them. His bat speed hasn't fallen off a cliff compared to last season, but his fast-swing percentage has dropped.
"There's no reason to be frustrated," Devers, who has a career .847 OPS, said on Wednesday through team interpreter Erwin Higueros.
While Devers, specifically, and the offense, generally, have disappointed, one of the most positive developments this season has been …
Luis Arraez's defensive brilliance
Arraez, a three-time batting champion, had his share of deals on the table this offseason, but he signed with the Giants specifically because the team would let him play second base. It was a curious decision because Arraez had been rated as an awful defender in his career. But San Francisco's faith in Arraez and his work with infield coach Ron Washington is paying dividends.
Arraez, 29, hasn't just been a competent defender; he's been one of the best defenders in baseball. Arraez hasn't committed an error, and his +6 outs above average, a range-based defensive metric, are tied for the fourth-most in the majors. Before San Francisco, Arraez was worth -36 outs above average at second base in his career.
Along with Arraez, another surprising development has been …
The bullpen’s dependability
San Francisco's front office didn't invest much into this bullpen despite the plethora of high-leverage options available in free agency, and Vitello has used terms such as "fluid" and "work in progress" to describe this unit.
At the season’s beginning, the bullpen looked like a weakness. So far, the bullpen has arguably been the best individual unit on this team.
The Giants' bullpen ranks second in ERA and 10th in FIP, a shocking development given the lack of this bullpen's established leverage relievers. San Francisco's relievers didn't allow a single run to the Los Angeles Dodgers, combining for four impressive scoreless innings in the win on April 21. And there's even more help on the way, too, with Sam Hentges and Jason Foley working back from injury.
Thursday’s back-to-back walk-off losses were something of a reality check, a reminder that most of San Francisco’s relievers don’t have an extensive track record of success in high-leverage situations. It’s also worth noting the bullpen has thrown the third-fewest innings in baseball, and there still isn't a definitive closer, as Ryan Walker and Erik Miller have both gotten chances to end games.
While the bullpen has been a net positive, the same can't be said for …
Most of the newcomers
The Giants' front office went with a strength-in-numbers approach this offseason, signing nine players - Arraez, Harrison Bader, Will Brennan, Adrian Houser, Tyler Mahle, Sam Hentges, Jason Foley, Rowan Wick, Ryan Borucki - to major league contracts.
Wick is out for 2026 while Hentges and Foley are still working their way back from their injuries, but the rest of the group has seen time with the Giants. And on the whole, that group has underwhelmed.
Bader hit the injured list on April 15 with a lingering left hamstring strain and was only hitting .115 when he hit the shelf. Mahle had one of the best starts of the year, outdueling Shohei Ohtani in a win over the Dodgers, but he's got a 5.87 ERA over six starts. Brennan has barely played, and Borucki has allowed six runs over nine innings.
As for Houser? The early returns have been rough. Houser, who signed a two-year, $22 million deal (with a club option for 2028) has a 7.12 ERA and 5.74 FIP through six starts, and what's been most alarming is his inability to strike batters out.
Houser's strikeout rate of 11.3 percent is well below the league average for starters (22.0 percent) and ranks in the third percentile. While Mahle has a track record of pitching well when he's healthy, Houser doesn't enjoy that same luxury.
Of all the newcomers, none matters more than …
The rookie manager
Two things have stuck out about Vitello's in-game decision-making. One, he's been aggressive with starter usage, routinely allowing his guys to go over the 100-pitch mark despite the season being young. Two, he's been passive with his bench, the Giants' 17 pinch-hit appearances being the second-fewest in the majors.
The bullpen management has, on the whole, been a net positive, but there have been some legitimately curious decisions. In Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader, for example, he allowed the right-handed Keaton Winn to face the left-handed hitting Kyle Schwarber despite lefty Matt Gage being available. Winn, in his second inning of work, allowed a game-tying double and the Giants went on to lose.
With Vitello, of course, there's also been the matter of what he says off the field. He shouldered the blame following back-to-back shutout losses. He got ejected for arguing runner’s interference, then explained postgame how two similar plays cost him in college. These are not everyday occurrences, to be clear, but they're reminders that Vitello is only about seven months removed from being in the college ranks.
The most games Vitello lost in a single season as the University of Tennessee’s head coach was 27 in his first year on the job. Barring a historic May, the Giants will cross the 27-loss threshold sometime this month. The Giants aren’t in some insurmountable hole. Plenty of season remains.
But, as Vitello said, they just haven’t been good enough.
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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 11:37 AM.