After the Giants posted an 80-82 record in Bob Melvin\u2019s first season as manager, the club improved by just a single game in 2025.\u00a0 The 81-win campaign means that the Giants have still had just one winning season in the last nine years, and since their 107-win outburst in 2021, San Francisco has an almost exactly middling 321-327 record.<\/p>\n
More was expected heading into 2025 and even during the season, especially after the club was firmly in NL West contention by mid-June.\u00a0 With just a .500 record as the final result, however, Melvin admitted to reporters (including the San Francisco Chronicle\u2019s Shayna Rubin<\/a>) that he hadn\u2019t been told that he\u2019ll be returning as manager in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is what it is.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see what the next day brings,\u201d Melvin said, noting that he believe he\u2019ll be meeting with \u201csomebody\u201d in the front office on Monday.<\/p>\n The lack of clarity about Melvin\u2019s status is perhaps a red flag, and as Rubin writes, \u201cthe shift in Melvin\u2019s tone is stark compared to earlier this year.\u201d\u00a0 Back on July 1, in fact, the Giants seemed to be getting an early jump on any lame-duck speculation by exercising their 2026 club option on Melvin\u2019s contract.\u00a0 The team actually in a bit of a slump on July 1, but rebounded to take a 51-42 record into action on July 9.\u00a0 An ugly 13-0 loss to the Phillies that day was a bad omen, as it started a 3-13 stretch for the Giants through the end of July.<\/p>\n More streaky play followed, as the Giants followed up a 2-11 stretch in August by suddenly going 13-3 in their following 16 games.\u00a0 This briefly brought San Francisco back into the wild card hunt before another 2-9 stretch sunk the team in September.\u00a0 Both the lineup and the pitching staff seemed to take turns being inconsistent, though the offense in particular was a letdown given the premium talent (i.e. Rafael Devers<\/a>, Willy Adames<\/a>) acquired within the last year.<\/p>\n