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

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

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.