In a stunning maneuver that simultaneously cast aside the architect of their winningest team while elevating one of the greatest players in franchise history, the San Francisco Giants fired president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and appointed future Hall of Fame catcher Buster Posey to that role.
The move comes just three seasons after Zaidi, 47, blended a combination of longtime Giants champions with a slew of newcomers to lead the Giants to a 107-win season and the 2021 National League West title, edging the rival Los Angeles Dodgers by one game. Yet the Dodgers toppled the Giants in an epic five-game NL Division Series, after which Posey – a three-time World Series champion for the Giants and the 2010 NL MVP – retired.
The Giants never neared those heights again, going 81-81, 79-83 and 80-82 as Zaidi’s commitment to roster-flipping and platooning did not bear fruit without the leftover championship core of Posey, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford.
Now, stunningly, it is Posey who will take the reins of baseball operations, even as he’s had virtually no executive experience.
Posey joined Greg Johnson’s ownership group and relocated his family back to the Bay Area after retiring. He reportedly undertook a significant role in the $151 million extension signed by Matt Chapman earlier this month, which might have been interpreted as a sign Zaidi, who was hired before the 2019 season, was seeing his influence wane.
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Now, it is official.
‘We are looking for someone who can define, direct and lead this franchise’s baseball philosophy,’ Johnson, the club chairman, said in a statement, ‘and we feel that Buster is the perfect fit. Buster has the demeanor, intelligence and drive to do this job, and we are confident he and (manager) Bob Melvin will work together to bring back winning baseball to San Francisco.’
Posey, 37, was a seven-time All-Star with the Giants and a career .302 hitter with 158 home runs. He played a crucial role as a rookie in leading the Giants to the 2010 World Series, their first in San Francisco, the start of three World Series championships in five years.
Zaidi was a top executive in Oakland and with the Dodgers before the Giants hired him to replace Bobby Evans, who inherited the job from Brian Sabean, the architect of the Giants’ three title teams. Zaidi’s heavily analytic approach – and hiring of progressive manager Gabe Kapler – was a significant departure for an organization grounded in traditional scouting and development principles. But the club faded badly after making the 2016 NL Division Series, and longtime manager Bruce Bochy departed after Zaidi’s first season in 2019.
While the 2021 season was a stunning development, Zaidi’s approach, combined with the Giants’ inability to attract elite free agents to San Francisco, roiled an increasingly impatient fan base.
Things seemed to come to a head when an extension for Chapman reportedly stalled before Posey interceded. This Giants club featured late additions in Chapman and Blake Snell, who struggled to find homes in free agency last winter.
That played no small part in the club’s slow start and eventual fade from contention. Now, Snell is expected to opt out of his contract, but said Saturday that he’d welcome a return to the Giants.
If that happens, he’ll be dealing with a new president calling the shots – one very familiar to Giants fans.
Yet player pedigree never guarantees executive success, across sports Michael Jordan struggled mightily as an executive with the Washington Wizards, and his Charlotte Bobcats teams also failed to gain traction under his team presidency. Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams could not translate his hitting greatness to the Washington Senators teams he managed.
Yet Posey is freshly enough removed from the game to retain relationships with current players, agents and on-field staff. His career spanned perhaps the most disruptive decade-plus with regard to player development and deployment.
‘We believe it is time,’ Johnson said in his statement, ‘for new leadership to elevate our team.’
