The SF Giants might save Farhan Zaidi's job with a strong finish to the season

The SF Giants have played some of their best baseball of the year in the past week or so. If they keep this strong play up for the final 6 games of the year, it is possible that they could save Farhan Zaidi's job in the process.

The Giants are coming off two very strong showings against playoff-bound teams this past week. They took two games out of three in a series against the Baltimore Orioles and followed that up with a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals.

It is important to point out that both the Orioles and Royals were struggling coming into both series. The Royals have lost seven games in a row and the Orioles are 3-7 in their last ten games, so they were not coming in playing their best baseball.

SF Giants' refusal to quit could preserve Zaidi's job

However, on paper they both have better rosters than the Giants do and the Giants were still able to play sound baseball and defeat them both.

This is a good sign for the Giants because before this solid six-game stretch they were coming off getting swept by the San Diego Padres and it appeared that they could end the season in a complete nosedive.

If they continue this strong finish in their final six games, they could also potentially save Farhan Zaidi's job. It is no secret that Zaidi is in the hot seat in his role as president of baseball operations. After three straight seasons of missing the postseason after the historic 107-win 2021 season, fan patience is wearing thin and it is possible that applies to ownership as well.

But, if the Giants finish the season strong and win either all six or five out of six of their remaining games, they will finish with a winning record. That would be only the second time the team has finished with a winning record under Zaidi. It could be much easier to spin 2024 as a weird year undone by injuries where they were not far off from the playoffs, especially if they finish strong against teams that are going to be playing October baseball.

Of course, I doubt ownership is basing their decision on six games at the end of a lost season. However, optics matter. The fact that the team has not quit and guys are still out there competing and grinding reflects well on manager Bob Melvin. That could, in turn, reflect well on Zaidi.

Ownership is much more likely to base their decision on Zaidi's plan for the offseason and going forward. If he is able to lay out a cogent and realistic plan to improve the team this offseason then ownership may be content giving him one more year to turn things around. If not, he may very well be gone.

Nonetheless, the fact that the Giants have not gone into a complete tailspin at the end of this year does help Zaidi. If they had completely collapsed and created an impression they were giving up or checked out then firing Zaidi may have been the only possible move to signal to fans that things were going to be different.

This next week and the weeks that follow will be very interesting and will determine a lot about the future of the franchise.