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

The most pressing question the SF Giants face heading into the offseason is whether Farhan Zaidi will continue in his role as president of baseball operations. This article will examine three potential replacements if he is relieved of his duties.

With the Giants out of the postseason, the only thing that Giants fans care about is the future. A big shaper of that future will be the person running the team's front office. As of right now, that person is Farhan Zaidi. We will see how much longer that lasts.

Who could replace Farhan Zaidi in the SF Giants front office?

Going into this season, there was a sense that Zaidi was on the hot seat. Even though it was announced last offseason that he and the Giants had agreed in principle to a contract extension through 2026, the fact that his hand-picked manager Gabe Kapler was let go at the end of last season showed that Zaidi was getting a warning from ownership who probably pressured Zaidi to get rid of Kapler.

He knew he was on thin ice which is why he went out and made additions in the offseason. He signed Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman, and Blake Snell. There was hope and optimism surrounding the team, but it did not translate into success on the field.

Zaidi deserves credit for landing these stars, but he could also be blamed for taking so long to try and squeeze every penny out of agent Scott Boras when it came to Chapman and Snell. Perhaps if you have them both there at the start of camp, Chapman is able to establish himself as a leader earlier and Snell is able to find his form maybe a month into the season rather than after the All-Star Break.

No matter what, things did not work out. Despite the team being in the Wild Card race at the trade deadline, Zaidi still decided to sell by getting rid of Soler. The Giants slowly faded and were basically out of contention by September.

Then, each passing week has brought worse news for Zaidi. There was the report that Zaidi's contract is not guaranteed through 2026, but only through 2025. Then there was the article in The Athletic about Buster Posey being involved in the Matt Chapman negotiations. There was some better news for him with the San Francisco Chronicle article that made Zaidi seem much more involved in the Chapman deal than Baggarly did.

No matter what, Zaidi is very much on the hot seat. It is up to ownership ultimately, and if they decide that it is time to shake up the front office, then here are 3 potential replacements for 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.