Farhan Zaidi’s biggest mistakes with SF Giants still litter free agency

It is 2025 and Buster Posey is the president of baseball operations for the SF Giants. However, as the offseason is coming to a close it is worth taking a look at free agency to remind us of some of the mistakes made by Posey’s predecessor Farhan Zaidi.

This article is not meant to dwell on past mistakes or cast more blame on Zaidi than what has already been said and done, but it is interesting to look at how the decisions he made in the front office have put the Giants in a bit of a weird spot with their starting rotation in 2025.

Let’s take a look at three pitchers he signed who have yet to land with a new team in free agency this cycle.

3 major Farhan Zaidi mistakes are still free agents

Ross Stripling

Of all the free agent signings Zaidi made during his tenure with the Giants, signing pitcher Ross Stripling may be one of the worst. The rationale was sound at the time on paper. Carlos Rodón had departed in favor of the New York Yankees so the Giants needed some arms to bolster the rotation.

They decided to sign Stripling to a two-year contract prior to the 2023 season. He had a great year with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022 when he had a 3.01 ERA in 134 and 1/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he just never got on track with the Giants. He had a 5.36 ERA in 2023 with San Francisco in 89 innings pitched and just never found his groove, starting the year in the rotation but spending a lot of his time in the bullpen after his struggles.

Zaidi was wise to trade Stripling to the Oakland A’s prior to the 2024 season in exchange for Jonah Cox, but Stripling’s struggles only got worse. He had a 6.01 ERA in 85 and 1/3 innings pitched and was demoted to the bullpen with Oakland last season. Perhaps he could sign a minor league deal with some team, but his struggles have only made his deal with the Giants look even worse even if it made sense at the time.

Alex Wood

There should be a stipulation with Alex Wood because he did have a solid year in 2021 with the Giants and helped them win 107 games. The mistake Zaidi made was signing him to a two-year contract after the 2021 season because he had a 5.10 ERA in 2022 and a 4.33 ERA in 2023 when he was used more as a reliever.

Like Stripling, Wood went to the A’s ahead of the 2024 season and he struggled as well, posting a 5.26 ERA in 39 and 1/3 innings pitched. The left-handed pitcher is in a similar boat to Stripling in that he may get a minor league deal, but it definitely stings that the Giants brought back Wood instead of Kevin Gausman after the 2021 season.

Anthony DeSclafani

The final glaring free agent pitcher mistake Zaidi made in free agency is Anthony DeSclafani. The right hander had a great 2021 campaign, posting a 3.17 ERA in 167 and 2/3 innings pitched. The Giants brought him back on a three year contract which was not worth it at all because DeSclafani struggled with injury in 2022 and 2023 and was not very effective when he was on the mound.

Zaidi made a smart move swapping DeSclafani and outfielder Mitch Haniger for Robbie Ray in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, but it is still unfortunate things did not work out on his second contract with the Giants after that strong 2021. DeSclafani also dealt with injuries in 2024 and did not appear in the big leagues so a team may roll the dice and give him a minor league deal but his injury history is disconcerting.

To be fair to Zaidi he made good moves and decisions as well. Signing Wood and DeSclafani to one year deals where they impressed and helped the Giants win 107 games were gambles that worked out. The decision to double down on those gambles is what bit him when the Giants would have been better served trying to lock down Gausman who is still thriving in Toronto with the Blue Jays.

Now, the Giants still have a starting rotation with a lot of question marks outside of staff ace Logan Webb. Maybe things will pan out but there is just so much uncertainty.

We will see if any of these former Giants signs with a team soon, but the fact that they are all still available in free agency is a reminder of the mistakes Zaidi made during his tenure.