SF Giants fire Farhan Zaidi, replace him with Buster Posey

After endless speculation about Farhan Zaidi’s job security as president of baseball operations, he has finally been dismissed by the SF Giants the day after the regular season concluded. Zaidi held that role with the Giants for six years, only leading them to a winning record in one of those six, when they won 107 games out of nowhere in 2021.

Zaidi was often a polarizing figure, with many in the industry hailing his intelligence and shrewd baseball acumen, but the vocal majority of Giants fans have been clamoring for his dismissal for quite some time now. Outside of his failure to bring winning baseball to San Francisco, Zaidi has often been criticized for his struggles to attract big names and failing to draft and develop a steady pipeline of young talent, among other reasons.

SF Giants fire Farhan Zaidi, replace him with Buster Posey

Enter Buster Posey, franchise icon and the greatest catcher in team history. Posey is just three years removed from his retirement as a player, which happened to be immediately after the conclusion of that remarkable 107-win campaign. Posey’s legacy as a player is illustrious, but his ascension to president of baseball operations with the only team he ever played for is still surprising.

Posey joined the club’s ownership group as a minority shareholder in September 2022 and began serving the front office in an advisory role around that time. It’s unclear the extent of influence he had on decision-making at that point, but he was used as a tool to help recruit big-name players the team was pursuing, such as Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Jung-Hoo Lee. The biggest sign that ownership was entrusting Posey with more power was when they had him personally hammer out an extension with Matt Chapman, after they’d grown frustrated with Zaidi’s inability to negotiate a deal to the finish line. The writing was on the wall at that point, clearly, that Zaidi’s days with the organization were numbered.

Where the Giants go from here will be a fascinating story to watch develop. Posey is well acquainted with the team’s culture and philosophies from back when they were at their best, while Zaidi was often criticized for his lack of familiarity with the organizational culture. Posey does have significantly less experience within a front office, let alone running an entire organization, than Zaidi had upon his hire, however. At first glance, it does seem that the hire of Posey was a PR move driven by fan service. If Posey and team chairman Greg Johnson choose to retain incumbent GM Pete Putila, he could at least be an experienced voice to help ease Posey into the role of the big chair.

The best news about Posey being the one to replace Zaidi, though, is the familiarity – and not even in the sense that we as fans already know who Posey is. Posey has a much greater familiarity with the team’s farm system and its strengths and weaknesses than an outside hire would have had. When a new president of baseball ops comes in, typically their first offseason is used to help them get acquainted with all levels of the organization, meaning there’s not a lot of trades and activity for a good while. The Giants, after missing out on both the playoffs and a winning record yet again, can’t afford to have such a period of idleness. Ownership, which Posey is apart of, is keenly aware that the fanbase has grown restless from years of Zaidi’s empty promises and yearns for a long-term winner.

The Giants didn’t extend Chapman and promote Posey to rebuild – they made these moves to reload. It’s "Playoffs or Bust" for the Giants going into next season, as Chapman had promised the fans who stayed after their last game on Sunday. Hiring Posey is definitely a big risk, but you can’t hit a home run without taking a big swing.