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Farhan Zaidi “Top Choice” To Run Giants’ Baseball Ops

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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:

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The Mets’ GM Search

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Not long after longtime general manager Sandy Alderson stepped down from his post with the Mets earlier this summer, it became clear that the organization would conduct an extensive search to tab a new head of baseball operations. Assistant GM John Ricco and special assistants J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya have been overseeing the team’s baseball operations department on an interim basis, but the Mets are now formally in search of a new department leader.

There have been multiple reports that owner Fred Wilpon is eyeing a more traditional general manager with scouting-based acumen (an “old school” type of executive, to use a broad description), while his son, COO Jeff Wilpon, is more focused on hiring an analytically-inclined executive that more closely aligns with recent industry trends. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, the Mets are leaving some candidates with the sense that the new hire won’t quite enjoy a full slate of baseball ops power. As he puts it, the impression is that Omar Minaya or one of the other existing assistant GMs could retain control over player development functions. Team sources that spoke with Heyman denied that was the case, however.

As we’ve done with some recent managerial searches, we’ll track the majority of the updates in the Mets’ GM search here as they navigate the early phases of the process.

Latest Update — 10/20

  • Doug Melvin and agent Brodie Van Wagenen are the favorites to land the job, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
  • Ng and Bloom are still being considered for the position, per Puma.
  • Littlefield, if not already eliminated, is considered a “long shot” at this juncture.
  • Close and former Mets GM Omar Minaya can’t “completely be ruled out” at this time, per Puma and Joel Sherman.

Latest Update — 10/19

  • It seems that agent Casey Close is also still in the mix. Martino tweets that he, Van Wagenen, Bloom, Ng, and Melvin appear to make up the finalists.
  • LaRocque is no longer under consideration, Marc Carig of The Athletic reports (Twitter link).
  • Agent Brodie Van Wagenen is still in the picture after receiving an initial interview, per Carig (via Twitter). (Carig initially tweeted the opposite, but amended his report.)
  • The Mets only consider Littlefield a “fringe” contender to land the position, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
  • DiComo now tweets that Watson did not receive a call for a second interview and is no longer in the running for the position.

Earlier Updates — 10/19

  • The Mets have interviewed six to eight candidates and will enter the second round of interviews next week, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link). Fred Wilpon will join the interview process in place of John Ricco for the second wave of sitdowns. DiComo notes that Littlefield, Bloom, LaRocque, Watson, Melvin and Ng are the six known candidates to date.
  • It’s not fully clear whether all six to eight candidates who’ve interviewed are ticketed for a followup session, though. Andy Martino f SNY.tv writes that the Mets have not yet determined which of the first round interviewees will be spoken with next week. Interestingly, Puma tweets that the Mets plan to make each finalist available to the media after his or her second interview is completed, so it seems as though there’ll be some transparency in the latter stages of the process.

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Front Office/Managerial Notes: Mets, Wright, McLeod, Rangers, International

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There still isn’t much clarity in the Mets’ still-nascent search for new front office leadership. But there are some interesting names being talked about as factoring in still-unknown ways. Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently argued that the club should be willing to spurn convention, even posing the possibility of some agents being considered. Evidently that’s not out of the question, as Andy Martino of SNY.tv hears that the club has at least considered the possibility of hiring from the ranks of prominent player reps. It seems the club is still in the brainstorming phase of the effort. Internal possibilities, however, don’t seem likely, per Martino. Indeed, assistant GM John Ricco said yesterday that he doesn’t consider himself a candidate, as Tim Healey of Newsday tweets.

Here are some more notes on front office and managerial movement from around the game …

  • Even as he prepares to wrap up his playing career with the Mets, David Wright seems to be looking forward to a future in a front office capacity. As Martino reports, Wright has made clear he isn’t interested in working as a member of the field staff or as a TV commentator, but does believe he could “provide value” in an advisory capacity to the New York brass next season. Martino argues that it’s an easy call for the organization to utilize Wright in some manner. It’ll be interesting to see what the future may hold.
  • One potential candidate for front office leadership positions is Cubs exec Jason McLeod. As Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times explores, the availability of some large-market jobs could conceivably pique McLeod’s interest in leaving a place he’s obviously comfortable. In addition to the Mets opening, the Giants are looking for new baseball ops leadership — a situation we touched upon earlier today.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels discussed the team’s preliminary preparations to replace just-fired skipper Jeff Banister, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Though the organization has already compiled a list of names, it hasn’t begun lining up interviews. No doubt that’ll change as the regular season draws to a close. The slate of possibilities will also likely evolve, says Daniels, who added that there’s no specific timeline in mind.
  • The Reds announced a pair of promotions yesterday. Shawn Pender will become VP of player development, while Eric Lee becomes the team’s senior director of player development. Clearly, both will be trusted with bringing along the organization’s young talent. But the intake process is still in line for change as well. The club is seeking an international scouting director in advance of some ramped-up efforts there, with MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon noting that president of baseball operations Dick Williams suggested it’s likely to be an outside hire.
  • In other international scouting news, Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs has tweeted a few recent moves. Frankie Thon has bounced from the Angels to the Mariners, taking over as international scouting director in Seattle. Likewise, the Mets will lose their international scouting director Chris Becerra, who is expected to take a job with the Red Sox.

Latest On Twins’ Front Office Search

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9:34pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter) that while Mets assistant GM John Ricco has recently been linked to the Twins’ job, Ricco is no longer in the running at this point. Berardino adds to that report, tweeting that Ricco was never under heavy consideration.

9:28am: The Twins appear to be homing in on a handful of possibilities for their open president of baseball operations position, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Though the team could still conduct interviews with additional executives, it may be that the slate of candidates is already set, he adds on Twitter.

One outside option who has impressed, per Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter link), is Cubs vice president of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod. He is “well-regarded” and “well-positioned” in the Twins’ search after impressing in his early interactions with Minnesota’s top brass, according to the report.

McLeod obviously isn’t the only highly-regarded young executive under consideration. Prior reports have suggested that Rays AGM Chaim Bloom, Indians AGM Derek Falvey, and Royals AGM J.J. Picollo are also in the discussion.

Then, there’s sitting Twins interim GM Rob Antony, who rounds out the five names known to be in the hunt. Per Berardino, he’s the only internal candidate who will receive an interview. The club did consider VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff, scouting director Deron Johnson, and special assistant (and former Reds GM) Wayne Krivsky, but elected not to hold meetings with them.

Twins Eyeing Cubs Front Office In Executive Search

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SEPTEMBER 12: The Twins have now requested permission to speak with McLeod, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters including Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). Hoyer suggested that it is all but a foregone conclusion that McLeod will eventually depart to take over another baseball ops department, though of course it remains to be seen whether there’ll be a match with Minnesota.

SEPTEMBER 7, 9:50pm: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Twins haven’t approached the Cubs about speaking to either McLeod or Rehman about a front office role. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Twins don’t have interest in the pair of execs. Thus far, there’s been no indication that the Twins have progressed beyond compiling a list of potential candidates, let alone conducting interviews.

Rehman downplayed the reported interest when speaking to Wittenmyer, calling it “flattering” but stressing that he, like the rest of the Cubs’ front office, is focused on bringing a championship to Chicago.

12:50pm: The Twins are “looking closely” at some members of the Cubs front office as they continue their own executive search, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets. Specifically, Minnesota has interest in Jason McLeod and Shiraz Rehman, per the report.

We heard yesterday that Minnesota is considering former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos for the post of president of baseball operations. [Editor’s Note: Anthopoulos has since said he is not interested in pursuing the position at this time.] The club is set to institute a two-tier arrangement, hiring a PBOp who will in turn hire a GM.

It is not immediately clear how the Cubs’ executives fit into this still-developing picture. Both of these still-youthful executives obviously carry wide industry respect, but neither has yet been tasked with final decisionmaking authority over an operations department.

McLeod, the senior VP of player development and amateur scouting, has previously drawn consideration for GM gigs but has seemingly been committed first to his work in Chicago. “I really want to be here when we win,” he said back in 2014 after declining a chance to interview for the Padres’ GM opening. “Being a GM is something I still really hope to do in the future, but right now I felt this is where I want to be.”

Rehman is an assistant general manager who has long-standing ties to top Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer dating back to their time with the Red Sox. He worked with the Diamondbacks before coming to Chicago. For more about his background in Arizona — under a regime that prioritized statistical analysis — check out this 2009 interview from David Laurila.

It’s worth noting that the expectation is that no Cubs personnel will change organizations while the season is ongoing, per 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter). That wouldn’t appear to remove any of that club’s executives from consideration for this or other openings that may arise, but it could impact the timing somewhat.

Cafardo’s Latest: Hill, Dodgers, Cubs, Twins

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The Dodgers are hoping to sign August acquisition Rich Hill to a multiyear contract before he reaches free agency in the offseason, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. In his time with the A’s and Dodgers this season, the 36-year-old left-hander has dealt with multiple injuries – including a nagging blister – but he has been stellar when healthy. The journeyman has thrown 12 shutout innings in his two starts with the Dodgers, the latest being a six-frame, one-hit showing Saturday. Overall, Hill owns a sparkling 1.94 ERA to accompany a 10.33 K/9, 3.07 BB/9, 48.8 percent ground-ball rate and 14.9 percent infield fly mark through 88 innings. Despite his age, durability issues and limited track record, Hill’s next deal should easily outdo the one-year, $6MM pact he signed with Oakland as a free agent last offseason.

Here’s more from Cafardo:

  • Cubs players and executives will try to convince catcher David Ross not to retire after the season, Cafardo writes. Ross declared in November that this would likely be his final year, and the respected team leader has since slashed a solid .241/.360/.448 with eight home runs in 182 plate appearances while grading as one of Baseball Prospectus’ top framers and blockers. If Ross doesn’t return as a 40-year-old in 2017, the Cubs have a more-than-capable heir apparent in Willson Contreras. They also owe fellow backstop Miguel Montero $14MM next season, the final year of his contract.
  • The Twins’ search for a general manager could lead them to either Cubs senior vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod or former Boston GM Ben Cherington, according to Cafardo. Of course, the club is also looking for a president of baseball operations whose role will include choosing a GM.
  • Free agent outfielder Carl Crawford is likely to give baseball another try next season, a source told Cafardo, who adds that the 35-year-old could focus on his longtime team, the Rays, and his hometown club, the Astros, as potential landing spots. Crawford has been out of the picture since the Dodgers released him in June. Regardless of whether the four-time All-Star plays again, he’ll make $21.8MM next season to conclude the seven-year, $142MM deal he signed with Boston in 2010.

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