If former Tennessee Vols coach Tony Vitello was hoping to see October baseball in his first season with the San Francisco Giants, he’s going to have to watch on TV like the rest of us.

The Giants are 29-43 and 16 games out of first place at the midpoint of June, and it sounds like the team is just about ready to give up on its hopes of playing playoff baseball this season.

San Francisco is reportedly in the early stages of becoming sellers at the trade deadline

San Francisco doesn’t have the white flag on the season all the way in the air, but they’re certainly beginning to hoist it.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported on Monday that the Giants are moving closer to becoming sellers at the trade deadline.

“The San Francisco Giants have not fully committed to becoming sellers at the trade deadline,” reported Rosenthal. “But they are moving closer to making that determination.
In recent days, the Giants have put out feelers on some of their players, testing the waters for potential deals, according to people briefed on their discussions.”

“They hired manager Tony Vitello from the University of Tennessee with the idea of reviving the franchise and producing only their second winning season since 2016,” added Rosenthal. “Instead, they have been a major disappointment.”

According to Rosenthal, the Giants are considering trading starters such as infielder Luis Arraez, third baseman Matt Chapman, LHP Robbie Ray, first baseman Rafael Devers, and shortstop Willy Adames.

The trade market won’t get hot for another month, but it’s clear the Giants are heading into July planning to be sellers (barring a miracle turnaround over the next couple of weeks).

This season obviously hasn’t gone as Vitello was hoping, but selling off a majority of the starting lineup could give San Francisco’s front office the opportunity to build a team in the offseason that’s a better fit for the former Tennessee coach’s personality.