3 potential candidates to replace Farhan Zaidi in SF Giants front office

3 potential candidates to replace Farhan Zaidi in SF Giants front office

1. Kim Ng

Kim Ng was the general manager of the Miami Marlins from 2021-2023. She helped lead the Marlins to their first winning season in a 162 game season since 2009 last season. The Marlins decided to reorganize their front office after 2023 which would have made Ng second in command so she declined the option on her contract.

The Marlins forced out Ng from their front office and added Gabe Kapler as an assistant GM. They are dead last in the NL East right now and are 30-plus games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place. So, maybe forcing Ng out was not their best decision.

Earlier in her career, Ng was an assistant GM with the New York Yankes and worked with Brian Cashman. She has decades of experience that she would bring with her to the role. Also, given the fact that she has been around so long she would likely have more of an old school approach than Zaidi while also taking advantage of analytics when they are useful but not living or dying by them.

Personally, she would be my choice to run the Giants front office if Zaidi is fired. She has the experience and background to shake things up and get the Giants back on track. However, many fans would probably favor this next potential candidate to replace Zaidi.

3 potential candidates to replace Farhan Zaidi in SF Giants front office

2. Buster Posey

After the reporting from the last week about Buster Posey's involvement in the Matt Chapman extension, the drums calling for Posey to take over have reached a deafening pitch. One columnist has already declared Posey the de facto leader of the organization.

Slusser's reporting in the Chronicle definitely throws a little cold water on that notion, but it is obvious that Buster is still in many ways the face of the organization. We know he has gotten involved in free agent pitches to players the last several offseasons since he has become part of the ownership group. And we know that as a franchise legend whose big league career not so coincidentally led to three World Series championships in five years he has a lot more good will than any other typical executive would have.

Of course, there are cautionary tales of star players becoming executives. Derek Jeter's time with the Marlins did not turn out great, for instance. However, there are success stories as well. Steve Kerr was successful as general manager of the Phoenix Suns and went on to be a great coach of the Golden State Warriors. John Lynch went straight from the broadcast booth to the general manager role with the 49ers and has helped to completely turn that franchise around.

If Buster were to become the top decision maker in the front office, he would certainly be putting part of his reputation on the line. However, he is clearly smart enough to handle the job and would approach it as a former player. Fans would certainly be very excited for the change of pace he would provide after Zaidi.

Who knows if Buster even wants the job, though. He has a family and may not be interested in the scrutiny and day-to-day grind that the job entails. But boy would it be fun if Buster Posey were to go from turning the franchise around on the field and then doing the same thing in the front office 15 years later.

The final name on this list is another one that should be familiar to Giants fans.

3 potential candidates to replace Farhan Zaidi in SF Giants front office

3. Brian Sabean

It would not be the craziest thing in the world for the Giants to reunite with the most successful general manager in franchise history in Brian Sabean. Sabean served as GM for the Giants from 1997-2014 and was instrumental in the team's success in the late '90's and early 2000's as well as their championship run in the 2010's.

Sabean suffered no fools and was not afraid to make unpopular decisions if he thought it meant the team would get better. He is the definition of old school and would be a very stark repudiation of the new school approach employed by Zaidi.

He has been critical of the Zaidi regime and has spoken about how he feels Bruce Bochy was not allowed to leave the Giants on his own terms. Chances are he would be excited to work with an old school manager in Bob Melvin. He currently serves as an executive advisor to Brian Cashman, the general manager of the Yankees.

It is fair to wonder whether his old school approach would work as well in the age of analytics. Perhaps going against the grain is what the Giants need to break out of their mediocrity.

If Farhan Zaidi is let go, the potential list of candidates will certainly be longer than this. However, these 3 names provide an interesting starting point when thinking about who could potentially replace Zaidi in the front office.