Does another mediocre SF Giants season prove Farhan Zaidi was not the problem?

The SF Giants have had yet another mediocre season in 2025. The record will end up looking a lot like the three seasons of mediocrity that got Farhan Zaidi axed. Does this mean that Zaidi was actually not the problem with the Giants?

Not necessarily. Buster Posey has been calling the shots in San Francisco for almost a full year now and he has certainly already left his imprint on the team. He inked shortstop Willy Adames to the largest contract in franchise history and then swung a huge trade for slugger Rafael Devers.

SF Giants still struggling to break out of mediocrity

Early in the season with Adames struggling and signature Zaidi additions like Robbie Ray dealing, it was fair to wonder who really deserved the credit for the team's success. Now, at the end of the year it is clear that this is Buster's team.

The move for Devers really cemented that Posey was in charge because he did what Zaidi never could do which was land that big bat. Of course, the team collapsed after acquiring Devers. Then, Posey did what Zaidi never could do by selling at the deadline.

But, when Devers, and the rest of the lineup, heated up in September and the team made a run at the Wild Card after looking like the playoffs were nowhere in sight just weeks prior they showed everyone that this team is capable of success.

The fact that Devers, Adames, and Matt Chapman are all going to be in San Francisco for a while has established a core in the middle of the lineup. The only problem is that all three of those guys are exceptionally streaky hitters who have a good amount of swing and miss in their game. The lineup may need one more real contact-first hitter to guard against the intense offensive droughts that the team experienced in 2025.

The difference with 2025's mediocrity is that it was a volatile mediocrity. The mediocrity of the 2022 to 2024 seasons were more of a dull mediocrity. Sure, there were hot and cold streaks but nothing compared to the peaks and valleys that the 2025 Giants had. They were setting franchise-worst marks at home and then a few weeks later were setting a record for consecutive games the team hit a home run in.

The 2025 Giants were at least not boring the same way the teams of the last few years were at times. Perhaps part of that has to do with Posey and his willingness to make big moves like the Adames signing, the Devers trade, or calling up Bryce Eldridge in the middle of a late-season playoff push. He is willing the push the envelope and roll the dice in a way that the more cautious and calculating Zaidi never was which at least makes the team more interesting and entertaining.

After one season, the mediocrity of the Zaidi years has persisted but maybe this season is setting the stage for a resurgent era of Giants baseball as Posey gains even more confidence and is able to diagnose what the team needs to do to this offseason to get back to the playoffs.

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