Private equity firm to invest in SF Giants, but don't expect better free agents

It was announced on Friday that the SF Giants have a new investment partner in Thrive, pending MLB approval. Thrive is a private equity firm that is run by Joshua Kushner and it will have a minority stake in the Giants if this deal goes through.

While on the surface it sounds nice that the Giants will have a new infusion of money, don’t get your hopes up that this will result in the team spending more money on the product on the field. Giants fans know better at this point.

Just last year the Giants had another private equity firm, Sixth Street, invest in the team and that obviously did not bring about a huge change in the way the team operates. 

Maybe this pending deal will mean some more money for improvements to Oracle Park, but it probably means more money for real estate dealings or maybe the team will purchase another theater.

More of the same for SF Giants after another private equity deal

Obviously, baseball franchises want to make money and San Francisco’s ownership group has made that abundantly clear in recent years. Greg Johnson, the chairman of the ownership group, made his regrettable “somewhat break even” remark a few years ago, a comment he’s tried to walk back since.

The Giants are making money. Forbes ranked them as the fifth-most valuable MLB franchise which is why many fans find it frustrating that the team ranks 11th in MLB when it comes to payroll. Fans want a winner and with the Los Angeles Dodgers spending insane globs of money to build a super team it’s just frustrating that the Giants aren’t always willing to do the same.

They have made big moves. Signing Willy Adames and trading for Rafael Devers were moves that showed the team was trying to build a contender, but the Devers trade already looks like it may have been a mistake even if president of baseball operations Buster Posey says he doesn’t regret it.

The Giants still remain unwilling to commit a lot of money to starting pitching and that is why their rotation is just not consistent enough to be considered a real strength of the roster.

Maybe things will change and the Giants will get more aggressive someday, but for now it seems like more of the same as ownership gets richer and the product on the field stays largely the same.

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