San Francisco Giants outfielder Drew Gilbert has some history with new Giants manager Tony Vitello. Gilbert played at Tennessee under Vitello between 2020-22, so he has some awareness of the type of energy and strategy Vitello might bring to the Giants.

Vitello will be officially announced as the Giants new manager on Thursday. Ahead of the announcement, though, Gilbert offered some thoughts on Vitello taking over for Bob Melvin. Vitello took a friendly dig at Gilbert when talking about taking on his new role.

Basically, Vitello said that he's coming to San Francisco to "baby sit" Gilbert. What did Gilbert think about the funny line?

"I thought that was pretty funny," Gilbert said in a phone interview on Tuesday, according to Giants reporter Maria Guardado of MLB.com. "He’s always got some good one-liners. He’s always been really good, whether it’s talking to the media or talking to the team. I didn’t expect anything less than for him to have something creative to say."

Vitello has never managed in the majors. This is something that a few people have pointed out when talking about the Giants hiring him, yet Vitello's collegiate mark cannot be ignored.

He led Tennessee to three consecutive College World Series trips between 2021-24. Vitello brought the Volunteers their first CWS crown in 2024, too. He's also watched 52 former Volunteer players get selected in the MLB Draft, Guardado pointed out.

"I think it speaks to what he’s been able to accomplish at Tennessee, to be the first college head coach to go straight to the big leagues," Gilbert said in the interview. "I think it’s a testament to what he’s done and who he is as a human and as a coach. It’s awesome. I’m happy for him, and I’m also excited to play for him again."

Vitello will be up before the San Francisco media in person on Thursday. He's probably going to be asked about strategy, the Giants roster, and how he sees his collegiate experience transferring to the much bigger stage of MLB play.

The Giants are taking a risk on Vitello. Yet San Francisco's front office believes that they made the right pick to get the Giants back into contention for a National League West Division crown.

Vitello has some work ahead of him. He's probably chomping at the bit to get going, too.