SF Giants executive Farhan Zaidi is sticking to his guns until the bitter end

The SF Giants just had the most Farhan Zaidi trade deadline ever. They sold bad contracts and made a tiny addition in Mark Canha. Zaidi stuck to his guns and if the Giants do not make the postseason then that could be his undoing.

SF Giants executive Farhan Zaidi is sticking to his guns until the bitter end

Aversion to risk. Moves at the margins. Platoons. These are just a few of the things that Farhan Zaidi feels passionate about and he delivered on all of them at the trade deadline. He got rid of a risky contract that the Giants gave to Jorge Soler in the offseason (paying him $13 million in 2025 and 2026 just did not make sense with his injury history and mediocre level or production). He also made a marginal move to bring in Mark Canha who is a more cost-effective version of Soler that can be platooned in the outfield and who will be a free agent after this season.

On the one hand, it is admirable that Zaidi did not waver from his typical deadline approach. With it seeming like Zaidi is on the hot seat this year due to the team's lackluster play, many front office heads would have made risky, borderline irrational moves all in the name of winning now. Just look at how Padres executive A.J. Preller handled the deadline with rumors swirling about his job security. He emptied the farm system for rentals in an attempt to make the postseason this year.

If A.J. Preller ran the Giants, he probably would have dealt Marco Luciano, Carson Whisenhunt, and some other prospects to land a bat that probably would not have been worth it in the long run.

Zaidi remained disciplined and stuck to his m.o. even though he knows this could be his last season with the Giants. His approach is one that infuriates many fans who detest the sort of one foot in towards contending while also keeping an eye on the future approach that he often employs. Yet, this approach is probably the most prudent one for a team that, deep down, most fans know will probably not make the postseason.

Many fans want the aggressive, wheeling and dealing approach where you push all of your chips in to win now. But look at how well that approach has worked for the Padres in recent years. The Dodgers have similarly gone all in in recent years, and they have a lot of postseason appearances to show for it, but no championships other than the 2020 one in a shortened season.

The disgruntled fan would argue, 'Well, at least those teams are trying. The Giants do not even seem to be trying to make the postseason.' And this is a fair criticism. But even if you look at the championship years for the Giants, the only true major trade they made was for Hunter Pence in 2012. Sure, they made key marginal additions in all three seasons (Cody Ross and Javier Lopez in 2010, Marco Scutaro in 2012, Jake Peavy in 2014), but their approach was usually pretty prudent and not desperate. The one major swing in those years was for Carlos Beltran in 2011 and that ultimately did not result in a postseason appearance.

But when the team has not been in the postseason since 2021 and there is just a general feeling of malaise and mediocrity surrounding the organization, many fans just want to see the team try. And right now, there are many fans who do not think the Giants are serious about winning.

Despite all of this, Zaidi is sticking to his guns. It is not in his nature to make huge swings. If the Giants play poorly the rest of the year and miss the postseason, it is simultaneously admirable that Zaidi remained so committed to his philosophy but at the same time would be damning for his approach and could well lead to his ouster. He had better hope that the team shows enough positive signs the next few months otherwise his time in San Francisco could be over.