San Francisco Giants: Start preparing for a total rebuild

San Francisco Giants fan should start preparing for the start of a total rebuild this summer.

I think it is fair to say that the San Francisco Giants came into this season with a “mini-rebuild” in mind.

New president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi did not want to completely overhaul a roster whose core has remained pretty much the same since 2014, but he wanted to make it clear that the organization was turning a new page.

We knew the team likely would not be able to compete due to an offense that—while it can get hot at times—slumps far too often to build any sort of momentum and make opposing pitchers sweat.

The first quarter of this season has basically been the last hurrah, or maybe just the fizzling out, of a core that delivered the last Giants championship.

Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik, and Pablo Sandoval are all still Giants five years after that magical night in Kansas City.

I’d be willing to bet that by Opening Day of 2020, three of those names will no longer be on the team.

With this being manager Bruce Bochy’s last year before he rides off into retirement, I think Zaidi was comfortable with 2019 being a sort of farewell tour for the championship years while at the same time being a test run for how he intends to run the team when nostalgia is not a factor.

Nothing gets rid of nostalgia faster than three consecutive losing seasons, so do not be surprised if Zaidi now feels that he has the necessary legitimacy to make moves that would have left fans heartbroken a few years ago.

The fan base understands that it is truly time to turn the page. With the arrival of the 2020 season, the previous decade’s success can be fondly looked back upon while simultaneously turning over a new leaf.

I expect to see changes in the coming months, whether it’s big names getting traded or other maneuvers, that reflect Zaidi’s intent and willingness to take this franchise in an entirely different direction.

Things have been trending this way for quite some time. It is finally time to embrace that these changes are inevitable and we can only hope that they are for the better.