In a move for which the writing seemed on the wall as soon as Buster Posey took the reins on Matt Chapman’s extension, San Francisco Giants President Farhan Zaidi is being let go.
That report comes from Jeff Passan, who goes on to add something for which the writing was definitely NOT on the wall. Buster Posey is officially getting the big job. Just like that:
It’s a wild move for the Giants, where Posey is a legendary former player and minority owner. He serves on the team’s board of directors. Er, well, he did until today.
Thus, Posey’s experience working on the operations side of the ball is limited to say the least, and it’s not like he’s getting moved up the ladder carefully. This is a both-feet-in, take-a-gamble, fix-our-org move. If Posey surrounds himself with good and experienced front office-mates from here, it could work out fine. But I’ll be honest, given how ugly that Chapman contract looks (to me), and given how hard the top job is even when you have loads of experience, I’d be more than a little worried if I were a Giants fan today.
I could be wrong, of course. And it’s not like most front offices – Cubs included – don’t have warts. I’m just saying, this is one of the more shocking front office moves I can remember.
You can expect some significant other front office changes for the Giants, by the way, and obviously that means you keep your eyes peeled for poaching. The guy you immediately worry about is Cubs VP of Scouting Dan Kantrovitz, who worked for a long time in the Bay Area with the A’s (I guess you also worry about him with respect to the turnover coming to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he also worked). Kantrovitz has been freaking awesome running the Cubs’ drafts, and I’d hate to see him get away.
As for Zaidi, his time with the Giants was definitely mixed, but he worked under Andrew Friedman with the Dodgers before that, and I expect he won’t have a hard time finding another high-ish-level front office job if he wants.
(By the way, Jed and Carter: time to call the Giants and see if you can work out a trade right quick.)