At the end of a disappointing 2018 campaign, the Giants decided it was time to shake up the leadership of the baseball operations department. President of baseball operations Brian Sabean will work to find replacements for himself and Bobby Evans, who had held the general manager role. It’s the end of a successful era in San Francisco that culminated in three World Series championships in a five-year span. Whoever takes the reins will be put in charge of one of the game’s most venerable, highest-budget franchises, and tasked with implementing the strategic pitch that wins them the job.
Equal parts opportunity and challenge await a new ops boss. Here’s the latest on the search:
Latest Update — Nov. 5
- There are increasing indications that the Giants would like to hire Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi. Morosi cites a rival official for the proposition that the San Francisco organization is “prepared to offer a position” to Zaidi, who has worked alongside president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman for the past four seasons. (Twitter link.) An unnamed source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) that Zaidi is the “top choice” of the Giants’ brass, with Bloom “seen as a fallback.” At this point, though, it remains unclear whether Zaidi is interested in moving over from the rival Dodgers.
Click to review other candidates and prior updates to the Giants’ front office search:
Under Consideration
- The Giants have interest in Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweeted earlier this week, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required) that Zaidi is “likely” to interview with San Francisco. While it would be certainly interesting to see such a major executive jump between the two NL West arch-rivals, clubs generally don’t stand in the way of front office employees interviewing for jobs that would offer a promotion — Zaidi would be the head man in San Francisco, whereas Zaidi is behind Andrew Friedman on the Dodgers’ baseball operations hierarchy. Rosenthal speculates that Los Angeles could give Zaidi a raise to keep him in the fold. Zaidi joined the Dodgers following the 2014 season and his contract terms aren’t known, though since Friedman’s deal is up after the 2019 season, it stands to reason that Zaidi may also only have one more year remaining on his pact.
- The Giants have interviewed Diamondbacks senior vice president of baseball operations/assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter). The interview seemingly went well, as Nightengale adds that the 41-year-old Sawdaye is expected to be among the finalists for the position. Sawdaye has been with the D-backs in his current role for two seasons and was previously an integral part of the Red Sox’ front office, where he most recently oversaw the team’s international and amateur scouting efforts. During his time in that role, the Sox drafted the likes of Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Travis Shaw, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Matt Barnes.
- There are at least four other names under consideration. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, the club is taking a look at Rays senior VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold, and Dodgers exec Josh Byrnes. Meanwhile, the Giants will interview league executive Kim Ng, Chris Haft of MLB.com reports. Bloom has paired with Erik Neander atop the Tampa Bay baseball ops hierarchy and was a finalist for the just-filled Mets opening. Arnold came from the Rays organization to Milwaukee to serve as a wingman to GM David Stearns. Those two mid-thirties execs are part of a class of rising talents; Byrnes, on the other hand, has already sat in the GM chair for two organizations (the D-Backs and Padres). If hired, Ng would become the first female GM in the history of the majors. Formerly with the Dodgers, Yankees and White Sox, Ng has been a legitimate GM candidate with other clubs. She recently interviewed, according to MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, and has also been mentioned in the Orioles and Mets front office searches.
- Cubs senior VP of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod interviewed last week with the San Francisco organization, per Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. McLeod has long been seen as a strong candidate to lead a baseball operations department, though he has thus far remained content in his significant role with the Cubs. Levine adds that McLeod’s five-year contract already pays him “close to $1 million annually.”
Possible Candidates
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle speculates that the Giants will speak with Astros’ Assistant GM Mike Elias for their head of baseball ops opening now that Houston has been eliminated from the playoffs. Fancred’s Jon Heyman had suggested previously that Elias might be a name the Giants would consider if moving towards a more analytically-inclined candidate.
Not Under Consideration
- Prior Giants farm director David Bell was believed to be an in-house option to take over as head of baseball operations, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted. But Schulman later tweeted that Bell “apparently” was no longer a candidate to become the Giants’ head of baseball ops. Ultimately, he took over as Reds manager.
- Ben Cherington, an executive with the Blue Jays and former GM of the Red Sox, will not pursue the open position with the Giants, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The phrasing of the report seemingly indicates that he was seen as a candidate by the San Francisco organization. Rosenthal says, though, that Cherington would only be intrigued by an opportunity to “build an organization from [the] ground up.” Previously, of course, Cherington was knocked from the perch in Boston after a short run in which he oversaw both champion and cellar-dwelling rosters for the large-budget franchise.
- Not surprisingly, the Brewers have rejected the Giants’ request to interview GM David Stearns, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter). Given the successes of the Milwaukee organization since Stearns took the helm, it stands to reason that owner Mark Attanasio is more interested in discussing a new contract with the youthful executive than in allowing him to chat with other organizations.
Literally anybody from the Rays FO is being considered for literally any FO job available.
Literally
John Mozeliak of the Cardinals would be a fantastic candidate for the President of Baseball operations for the Giants. During a 5 year stretch, either the Cardinals or the Giants were in the World Series. He can rebuild the Giants the same way he’s done the Cardinals.
Why would Mozeliak leave St. Louis he’s almost finished his rebuild why would he want to go start another?
Hilarious.
Ha. Hard pass, but nice try.
Same reason why most execs switch jobs. Bigger market and more money. Also, the challenge of rebuilding a storied franchize.
Thanks!
And this is a prime example of humans incessant need to misuse literally. The word you were searching for was “figuratively”. The narcissistic need to give yourself more importance is self defeating.
Normally your narcissistic need to correct someone on figuratively/literally would be accurate, but given the recent trend of TB FO being hired, I would err on the side of literally.
It would suck for them if they were being figuratively considered.
The only way the Brewers possibly would’ve let the Giants take Stearns was if they had a couple top 5 prospects going back. Why even ask for an interview?
Why would Stearns even want to leave? Unless the Giants would have offered him a ludicrous contract I doubt he would have taken the job.
Promotion and a raise. They would be interviewing him for President position.
A fancier title is nice but in reality its not a promotion if the plan is to have Sabean babysit whoever comes in. Stearns has all the keys in Milwaukee and in SF he wouldn’t have that.
Plus Wisconsin winters lol
If Stearns leaves, he has at least 5 years in that position in San Fran. At least.
If he stays in Milwaukee and they tumble the next two years, which is a possibility, he’s done within 4 years tops. Probably closer to 3.
He has to consider the Giants job.
Its not a promotion. Stearns is the too decision maker in Milwaukee baseball operations
Not as stated COO Baer. Whomever is hired will have full control. Sabes is transitioning to consultant then the couch.
Problems Stearns May face by staying in Milw is the relative lack of big market money. Not only for his own pocket but what’s necessary to maintain the Brewer’s run they’re currently on.
Once the Brewer’s young guys reach arb or FA, they will have to be let go. Small to mid-market teams have only very short windows to compete for WS titles. See KC, Pitt for example.
It’s great to catch “lightning in a bottle” and have a couple or three good years, but when those players’ payday comes, it’s bye-bye Brewers!
How many high priced stars do the brewers really project to have? The day Yelich hits his FA years he’ll cost a lot but that’s 5 years down the line. Hader? He’ll probably break records for a RP contract but again that’s 5 years from now. Anyone else? Probably not. Jeffress and Knebel will get mid sized pay days or they’ll walk. Aguilar? If he’s the real deal is controllable until 2023. They have a long window of contention. I’m not a brewers fan but this team is going to be there for a long time. Hiura can replace the loss of Schoop/ Mous in the infield next season and they can start adding to the rotation.
Earthquakes
I dont know if that is true, Attanasio is very pleased with him and they have a great relationship. He has absolutely earned a very long leash especially with a guy who shows a lot of loyalty to workers
I’m sorry…..how many rings does Milwaukee have hmmm?
So you think Stearns would leave because because the Giants who have a much longer history have more rings?
Excuse me … But Stearns has a better chance to win rings with the Brewers than the Giants.
Because it is Milwaukee, one of my friends from SF moved to Milwaukee and he was back in a year. He quit his job and moved back. Said the weather and quality of life was terrible.
I live in the Chicagoland area and during the summer and winter vacation spots are usually in Wisconsin. There is a ton of stuff to do there. Although it’s not Milwaukee, Lake Geneva is a beautiful place to visit. So maybe your friend just likes warm weather. It’s got nothing to do with Wisconsin
@ric7744
Did your bud miss all the needles and feces on the streets of SF?
Your bud sounds nice.
Stearns:1 Decent year and 1 great year,if he has injuries and the Brewers struggle next year they will call for his head,there is lot more to it then your little thoughts
In fairness, the decent year (last year) they were not even expected to compete, and he continues to build off of that momentum. I think he’ll be alright.
Because if you’re the Giants a couple of your top 5s aren’t exactly generational talents?
Stearns may have liked the idea of a big g market team he could build however he liked… And you lose nothing by asking
I honestly think it’s going to end up being Byrnes. He’s overshadowed in his orginization, like Colletti was in SF when he moved to LA. History repeats.
Well, if Byrnes ends up doing half the damage to the Giants as Colletti did to the Dodgers—I’m all in for history repeating itself.
And that he did to the Padres
Don’t forget Byrnes and the DBacks too
Yeah. Didn’t he draft Luis Urias? And have a knack for finding pitchers? And being hamstrung by ownership that gave him no budget and no FO support?
Byrnes couldn’t wait to get out of San Diego, but he wasn’t going to quit.
Just to be clear, I’m not trying to say he was a great GM, just that he set up to fail in an organization that was trying to recover from a lot of ownership and financial problems.
And traded Rizzo and handed out extensions that went south every time except for Chris Denorfia.
The dodgers problem was in the Clubhouse when Colletti was there,that’s on the Manager and the Players
I think I would have to respectfully disagree. Have you read Molly Knight’s book, “The Best Team Money Can Buy”? Her very detailed reporting on Colletti’s work has never really been disputed by other reporters. Knight, quite candidly, depicts Colleti as a buffoon who lacked the respect of his new owners, colleagues and, very importantly, his staff. His free agent overpays are legendary. To your point, he hired and protected that manager who couldn’t control the clubhouse and he signed most of the players who made that clubhouse toxic.
Finally, if Colletti had been perecived as an effective GM. why has he never taken (or been offered) another position? Out of friendship and loyalty from Stan Kasten, he remains on the Dodger payroll as a high paid “consultant” and color man on pre and post game television broadcasts.
“Knight, quite candidly, depicts Colleti as a buffoon”
Huh, that’s interesting. I had always suspected that he was the brains of the duo when he worked under Sabes. I can buy that he is a buffoon, but I still think he was probably the brains of the SFG front office.
Fire Sabean; fire Bochy.
Bloom, Arnold, or Elias would all be great hires. Just hope they make some moves soon. Offseason is almost upon us and this team has to pick a direction.
Arnold
Elias’s first two picks as scouting director were Mark Appel and Brady Aiken, how that turn out?
Pretty sure 29 other teams were ready to take Appel if the Astros didn’t. Aiken is still only 20 or 21, too early to call him a bust.
Aiken is 22 getting ripped in A ball. Bust.
Well one of those led to Bregman, i think their happy with that result.
Thank god Forst is still under contract until next year, and is likely to be extended anyways.
Please do us White Sox fans a favor and take K. Williams. We’d be glad to give you Moncada to take him. We know he’s only a .225 hitter and can’t field but boy he’s got a lot of potential
William’s has blackmail on the owner…..
Won’t contend for the next 10 years
Has Cherrington been asked about the O’s job? That’s about as “ground up” a job as you’ll find
We want Billy to jump across the bay – ain’t happening most likely however wouldn’t hurt to try…. Byrnes retred we don’t need , looking for generational change from the old guard, Giants going to let person name new mgr in 2020 and put his stamp on the next Giants squad… facing a challenge right off the bat – stat the course with older guys or at least partial rebuild…..
Billy would hop over to soccer before he joins the Giants.
There’s the matter of the 2.5% ownership share he received for *NOT* going to the Red Sox.
Billy Beane is also 56, and very unlikely to drop the 30-year association he’s had with the A’s since he signed a free agent contract in spring 1989.
The As and Giants don’t exchange,The feeling is mutual both ways
Wth are you talking about, you do realize that casilla and petite were giants, zito was an a, otero was a giant, etc etc and plenty of ex giants are in the a’s fo and vice versa- add to that – the commentators- the kuipers are brothers. So they don’t trade often but players and staff go back and forth
The Front offices most certainly do NOT deal with each other. What a player does after he leaves one organization has nothing to do with the one he’s leaving
The Kuipers being brothers also means nothing lol
Those were all free agents, as opposed to direct trades.
The last direct trade I can remember between the two teams was Darren Lewis for Ernie Riles.
Despite being GM’s for their respected teams for the last 20 years, Beane and Sabean have never made a trade together. I don’t think they hate each other, but rather prioritize different talents in players.
One of the biggest ever in the history of the game was Vida Blue for the western span of the Bay Bridge.
They weren’t trades,they were FA’s do your research that’s not exchanging
I think it’s reasonable to suspect that most people who have met Sabean hate him.
Wow, not too much bias in that huge assumption. My guess is that if Larry Baer, or any of the Giants ownership group hated Sabean, he would have been long gone by now. Your use of the word “reasonable” is laughable in that context.
I could turn this team around within 3 years….
UPDATE: usafcop being interviewed for Giants GM position.
@disadvantage…..thanks for the vote of confidence….in all honesty I am not a Giants fan but as a baseball fan in general I would love u run a MLB team….(wouldn’t we all)….I think most of us believe we can turn around a team by dumping aging players and rebuilding the farm system….at least it would be a fun job instead of catching shoplifters and getting bit or punched etc….lol
I think it is going to take more than just dumping aging players and drafting, the giants are a very unique case in that building a team around the park effects, income tax limitations and other factors means there needs to be a real strategy of not just how you would like to build a team but also what kind of a team an you build and how will that team play in SF. in the modern homerun era.
David Stearns is my favorite person in baseball. But I’m a lifelong Giants fan.
It doesn’t surprise me the Brewers denied their request, but it stinks.
Why does it stink? What makes Giant tans think they are entitled to grab any sitting GM they want
Imagine having to live in the same market with them.
Money talks my naive friend! Giants can offer big-boy $$$ that would make any Milw exec giddy! Milw is basically a proving ground for players & execs alike. Once they’ve shown their wares, it’s time to get their dues.
It’s funny how just about everyone in MLB (other than Giant fans) know this team is in need for a rebuild. Last year, Giants fans were crowing over how Stanton was going to come to SF. Now, those same fans are talking about Harper. NEWS FLASH, Harper’s not going to go to a ballpark with one of the most cavernous RFs in MLB that’s an extreme pitcher’s park.
They’d be smart if the tore it down and built back up from the ground up. But I don’t think Giants ownership will exactly free up a GM to do that.
Your bias is showing. Not sure your choice of words could be any more pejorative. And you ignore facts.
Giant’s fans were not “crowing” that Stanton was coming to SF. It seemed possible, given that the Marlins agreed to the trade, and fans were understandably excited. But most know that, until the trade is finalized, nothing is certain.
No one knows where Harper will go including you. What I do know is that many players go to the team offering the most regardless of the park. That’s why Greinke signed to pitch in an extreme hitter’s park. The Giants have the resources to make the highest bid. I don’t think Harper will be with SF next year, but not because he wouldn’t sign, but because the Giants are probably going to spread their resources in multiple areas.
The Giants were in the hunt for a playoff spot until late in the season. Had they not lost so many players to injury, a spot in the postseason was possible. Going for it is a lot more honorable than tanking for multiple seasons trying to acquire talent. At least Giants fans had hope for most of the season.
You obviously dislike the Giants. Bitter about their success? Don’t worry, plenty of fans out there dislike your team, whomever that is, so there’s plenty of animus to go around.
Any team worth their mettle can offer big-boy $$$ to their head of baseball operations. Look at us, we’re usually bottom of the payroll but our executives get paid well because they’re what keep us in contention despite the terrible financial situation we’re in.
Giants not grabbing anybody…….they asked to interview……it would be a promotion for Stearns……Milwaukee denied it……time to move on….
Bring in some new blood….no retreads…..drain the swamp (Old Boys Club)
One factor not prevalent in most cities is the very strong fan base that SF has…..the “right” mesh is very important…
When did I say they were entitled to him?
It would just be cool to root for David Stearns without having to cheer on a second team.
Jeff Todd, what is up with the link to Nick Senzel’s elbow surgery? Not much of a strategic pitch.
Guy finally gets some recognition and has the top of his head cropped off in the picture
There’s a Dick in Cincinnati, Reds’ fans will gladly give you
The situation in SF can be turned around, but it’ll require some unpopular decisions, and patience from a fan base that got spoiled by their success earlier this decade. So whoever comes in needs to do the dirty work of (yes) trading Bumgarner for two Top-20 prospects, preferably to Atlanta, Then, they’ll have to move Longo somewhere by adding one of their only real-value minor leaguers to the deal (yes, Ramos) just to get out from under that contract. After Belt returns from his injury and re-establishes himself early next season, he can be moved to one of his acceptable teams for another couple of Top-30 picks. Then some of these picks can be packaged with Shark and then Melancon in separate deals at the deadline (once they’ve proven to be healthy) to get out from under those deals. No, the team won’t be competitive, but it’ll be young and still with Posey and Crawford as transitional keystones to the next good Giants team, and with much more flexibility next offseason.
First off, I think the fans would be okay with Bum being traded. He hasn’t been the dominant one since he screwed up on the bike a couple years back, and if he brings back a haul they will survive the backlash. The FO doesn’t want to trade him because of fear the mighty season ticket holders might not resign for a rebuild year. Don’t forget Sabes is the guy who traded all-star and fan-favorite Matt Williams.
Longo can stay – he’s not that expensive and he actually could still be a key player. They have nobody to play 3rd anyway. Nobody will want him and I would frown on trading a top prospect just to get rid of that contract. Besides, when was the last all-star outfielder the Giants drafted? Chili Davis? Ramos should stay to see what he’s got.
I agree with the rest – don’t buy another free agent! Just have a down year, let Shark, Melancon and hopefully Cueto get healthy, play the kids in the OF and see what you have. Signing Harper to $300 million isn’t going to make this team any better. This isn’t the NBA where one player is going to make or break the playoffs.
Something tells me the Giants are finally agreeing with everyone and is looking for a new leader to change things up. All I can say is the Giants have three rings in my lifetime and even if it takes another 40 years to get another, I’m eternally grateful for what Sabes and his team have done in their tenure.
I agree with most of that but not taking 40 years to another ruining, i might not be around for that.
I’m pretty sure the giants didn’t stress all year about staying under the tax threshold to not go nuts for the next four years. We want it all and unless something is wrong with madbum, he’s not going anywhere.
Belt gets you maybe a pair of top 30 organizational prospects.
A pair of top 30 MLB prospects, for an aging lefty 1B with a concussion/injury history at 3/48(min) owed and a limited no-trade contract?
Nah.
He’s never hit over 20HR/yr, and there were over 100 players with more than 20 this year. His kind of hitting power isn’t hard to find cheaper.
Unless you are bonds or Stanton, thrte aren’t a whole lot of guys that would hit 20+ hrs in Sf, especially lefties. If you aren’t familiar with at&t what would be a homerun to right in most parks is very often a single off the bricks there. You should expect belt to do better power wise in pretty much any park that he goes to.
Case in point: McCutchen. He nearly doubled his HR rate after the trade to NYY. Also check out his road / home splits before the trade; these are pretty clear examples of the effects of park factors.
WolfChan calls it Giants in different kind of situation may have to promote from within because the situation is complex, I like the ex Red Sox guy with Dbacks and St Louis guy but Ng deserves a look based on her MLB insights and previous club exp.
Giants need a total rebuild. Farm system needs to be replenished, not that it’s been an asset the past few years. To wit, who is the last homegrown outfielder? Seems like forever our outfield is a collection of players signed off other team’s discard pile. Trade Cueto, Smargie, Longoria, Panik, Belt and gasp, maybe even Posey. Posey will be an old man by the time the Giants are good again. But whoever our new GM is, stop trading for old dudes and stop spending mega bucks on over the hill free agents.. Bumgarner and Crawford (For his defense) are my only keepers right now.
Cherry-picking the “who is the last homegrown outfielder” narrative is tired. No team has the resources to consistently develop all positions. The easiest positions to fill are corner OFers.
And if you’re going to trade most of the team, the majority of which have low value right now, there’s no point in not trading Bumgarner, the highest in value of any Giant.
So you want to keep the only guys with value and trade all the bums with no or little value?
Current roster is homegrown at C, home grown at 1B, homegrown at 2B, homegrown at SS, homegrown at 3B with Panda even if he does not wind up starting there.
Oh but no home grown OF’s …… so what
Nice to see giants get Kim Ng
San Francisco has a very large Asian population
Nobody attends ballgames to see the GM.
In a way fan do notice who the Gm is
players hired by gm
If lousy team fan complained to gm
Not players
I’m thinking aside from the population mix it’s nice because she deserves it and put in a tremendous amount of time and effort.
Race should never be an issue when hiring someone, but people in San Francisco do love their identity politics.
Dave Roberts will be job hunting after Sunday nights game!
Do you think it’s Roberts fault the Dodgers can’t finish on top of a World Series? There has been zero chemistry with that team for the past 6 years. Sad actually, cause there are some good ball players on that team that deserved to win. Give the Giants Kershaw and Turner, and watch a championship unfold!
Ng has great insite to a couple of top organizations and MLB office as well and has been passed over long enough…. give her a shot.
I don’t care if it is sexist, I don’t want a girl in charge of my favorite baseball team.
well that’s probably because you are an idiot
It should go to the most qualified person regardless.
You should care that it’s sexist, because admitting it pretty much automatically prevents anyone from caring about your opinion on the matter
You should want the best mind available for your team, what that’s packaged in shouldn’t really matter
So, if you’re a team president, and you have a chance to hire the most knowledgeable, most effective, best possible GM candidate, who was by far the best fit for your team, the city, and the teams goals, but instead, you would pass to hire someone less suited only because he was male, while the best choice was female. Glad you’re not the one running my team.
JoeyPancake could actually be Farhan Zaidi, I suppose.
Or he could be just another sign of the times.
Well, I’ve got good news for ya bud. Kim Ng isn’t a “girl” — she’s a woman.
If SF hires away Zaidi, I’d love the Dodgers to give her serious consideration.
It is sexist, but no more sexist than the people who want to see her hired simply for being a woman.
Just read this in a Jay Jaffe chat…
“Orioles Tragic: If you had your choice between Kim Ng and Ben Cherington for the GM of the Orioles, who would you hire and why? Or is there someone better suited out there?
1:39
Jay Jaffe: Based upon her extensive resumé in other front offices, I remain very interested in seeing what Ng can do as a GM. I’m not sure Baltimore is an ideal situation for her, but if it were my call, and if what she said about her plan for the organization made sense — which, really, is the great unknown with all of these GM openings; we’re working with very little actual info, because candidates aren’t broadcasting their plans — I’d hire her.”
Ben Cherington is an experienced GM who lead a team to a World Series title.
If Kim Ng were a man named “Kip Ng” with the exact same resume absolutely no one would be insisting he is qualified to be a GM over Cherington.
As someone who is in a very traditionally “man-work” kind of field… it’s not like that because of a lack of opportunity or pay inequality or any of that. It’s just that not a lot of women are especially interested, even though they’re perfectly physically capable of excelling, and in a lot of ways overall it’s really beneficial to water down the macho BS that can permeate a “man-work” kind of field.
Truth is most the women who excel in male dominated fields do so because they’re just that good. And they’re usually the first to complain about identity hires, handing out for free what they had to work for.
I’ve never interviewed Kim Ng for a job, I think it’s cool she’s in the mix a lot, but is there anything that stands out about her resume? Not really. The same can be said about lots of first time GM’s and PBO’s, of course… they get hired on ideas and potential. When you factor in the good PR wave the team to hire her would get… it makes me think that she simply hasn’t set herself apart above the rest at this point.
Are the Dodgers under federal investigation for illegal activities and signings in Latin America? This could be a mistake if he hired before the investigation is done. Please take Matt Klentak from the Phillies!
I think Belt would be a good fit for the Yankees they need a LH bat and maybe Panik would be a good fit as well.
I think you’re right. As a Giants fan I think Belt needs a change of scenery. He needs a hitters park with his type of swing. I bet, if he stays healthy he can pound 30 homers a year there. Panik is a great defenseman. When healthy he has low strikeout rate and good contact. Great salary dumps if anything for the Giants!
The Giants winning ways and poor draft picks lead to this demise
Exactly. People complain that they suck now, but this is what happens to an aging core, a core that won them three World Series championships. They had a choice to keep their favorite players (Crawford, Posey, Pence, Belt) and add around them or constantly retool. I was one of those guys that spit my Cheerios when I saw the Shark and Cueto signings within a couple days of each other, thinking they are going to kill it again. However, doing all these signings kills your drafts and their focus on the minor leagues.
Now they must finally realize the glory days are gone and are going to (hopefully) retool and play some of these young outfielders rather than sign an A.J. Pollock disaster. They will never fully rebuild because they need those butts in the seats, but I think they are going to quit handing out checks to players in their 30s that are past their prime.
I agree with you on the pollock signing. Wouldn’t mind the signing for a left fielder after a signing of Harper. They need a front of the rotation help also since Queto is out this year.
Cueto*
“but I think they are going to quit handing out checks to players in their 30s”
That’s exactly what a rebuild is, though. Most players don’t hit FA until they’re nearing (or in) their 30s. That’s why Machado and Harper are going to set records — because they’re abnormally young.
Love it, now the Giants want to be just like the hated Dodgers! Too funny!
2010/2012/2014 > 1988
Good job listing all the Giants titles in Cali and 1 of the Dodgers
The Dodgers stunk in Brookline
The Giants people use to crap all over the A’s moneyball strategy. The irony of them hiring one that use to be Billy Beane’s right hand man is hilarious.
Always nice to see a salty A’s fan every now and then.
Even better is hearing a salty giant fan pretending their team is almost a playoff team. Only if we had Harper. lmao
I don’t see anyone doing that here.. At least when the Giants make the playoffs they generally get through the first round. Oh, and their owners invest in the team. Oh, and their fans show up at games. Oh, and they actually have fans. The only sellout you guys see is when the Giants drive over the Bay Bridge.
If the A’s were no competition they would be playing in San Jose right now but the giants fear of the A’s had them scared. Giants has done everything they could to get them to move. Unlike the A’s who showed class and signed off on the San Jose area when the giants wanted it. Just like here giant fans insecurities shows by bashing the A’s.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a merry Christmas.
You A’s fans rip the Giants for your team’s idiotic business decision 20+ years ago. Honestly, can you blame the Giants on this one? It’s not fear one little bit, but common sense! Why on earth would the Giants allow the A’s to move into an area where there’s a huge Giant fanbase when they have a way to block it? Don’t be mad at them, be mad at your own team for that one.
Truly, to say the Giants have insecurities about the A’s is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever read from an A’s fan. You realize you guys are so insecure and jealous about the team across the bay that you offered to trade in any old Giants hat for a brand-new A’s hat?
We consider you the red-headed stepchild that we give our hand-me-downs to and ignore at the dinner table.
Giants would be in Tampa right now if it wasn’t for A’s ownership at the tine, little man
Oh, little man? Did I hit a sore spot with you widdle biddle A’s fawns?
Allow me to correct you – the Giants would be in Tampa right now if it weren’t for Peter Magowan.
However, the A’s would be in Portland, Montreal, San Antonio, Charlotte, Las Vegas and anywhere else but Oakland if it wasn’t for Major League Baseball saying no. That town would be desolate of sports teams, as the Warriors and the Raiders can’t wait to get the heck out of there. Not sure if that says something about the town or the fans. Thoughts?
Raiders are moving because of the Davis crime family is incompetent without Al. Warriors are moving because of the cash grab moving to that area would do for them right now. Notice how they didn’t get the okay to build that stadium until Steph became Steph. San Francisco won’t care for them after the run of titles is over, just like they did before.
I love the excuses. What do you have for your own team trying to move out of Oakland perpetually for the last twenty years? Your own city isn’t exactly trying very had to keep you around. You guys seriously are unwanted no matter what you do.
The A’s are like Farmer Ted from Sixteen Candles trying to be cool but still the guy standing at the back of the gym at the school dance.
A’s situation is no different to the Giants one in the 90s. They will stay in Oakland or somewhere near and get a new stadium, like it or not. The A’s have stayed put for 5 decades.
You want to use the Raiders and Warriors as examples, but both are nomadic franchises. The Warriors specifically sets into the arena of the gentrification of the Bay Area, which is societal problem.
1 of either Zaidi or Bloom needs to be in the organization by the end of the week. We don’t need Sabean starting the offseason. New era, new vision.
Yes Joey
Didn’t you used to pretend you were a Padres fan?
I think there is a guy named Joeypower who is a Padres fan.
The less metrics addicted front office dweebs in the Dodgers front office the better.
Yeah, the Dodgers clearly did so much better before they came along.
You’re out of touch as Hall and Oats say
Yea, the swing for the fences even with two strikes or with one out and a runner at third worked out real well for the Bums in the playoffs. Leading the league in home runs is cute during the regular season but falls flat against better pitchers in the postseason. All that whiffing and refusing to hit to the opposite field or bunt to an abandoned side of the field is asinine. Don’t get me started on pitching metrics.
The “dweebs” dont manage the games. They dont send signals down to the field or call the plays. Thats all on the coaching staff and players
I don’t follow this theory at all. The idea that the costly metrics being painstakingly developed by front offices aren’t being actually deployed on the field always seems to come from the biggest fans of analytics in baseball. Makes me wonder why you think they bother collecting all those numbers if the managers aren’t expected to actually use them during the games.
Teams wouldn’t be doing this stuff league wide if they didn’t have some indication that it was helping.
Good point BlueSky
They tell them not to bunt? Pr when to bunt. They sure as heck did not lose the world series because of small ball. They lost the second Rich Hill was foolishly pulled from a game while crusing. Thats a whole diffrent ball of wax. Sure thats something you can point to analytics, but this guy was talking about it with the bats
Notice I didn’t mention the World Series or any particular game. My point was a lot more general. It was about how managers are expected to use the data provided to them by the FO when making in-game decisions. Then when that data-driven approach doesn’t work, the blame doesn’t ever seem to fall on the collectors and analyzers of that data, the makers of the game plan, but on the manager whose job is to implement the game plan. It’s like blaming the guy on the assembly line for a product design defect.
In a late turn of events, the Giants decided to hire Scott Boras.