Why Farhan Zaidi deserves (some) blame for Luis Matos flaming out with SF Giants

The SF Giants traded Luis Matos to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday after he was designated for assignment following spring training since he was out of minor-league options. While there are many factors that led to things not working out in San Francisco, it was set into motion by former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi who called Matos up too soon back in 2023.

Zaidi's hands were somewhat tied due to injuries on the big-league roster that season. Mitch Haniger fractured his forearm and Matos was tearing the cover off the ball in Triple-A. The fanbase was clamoring for a call-up and the front office obliged, promoting Matos in the middle of a June winning streak as the team looked unstoppable.

Oh, how things can change.

Farhan Zaidi and SF Giants called Luis Matos up too early in 2023

Matos, who was 21 years old at the time, did alright in his rookie season. He slashed .250/.319/.342 with two home runs and 14 runs driven in but it seemed clear that he was not quite ready to be an everyday player for the team.

We know the story of how things played out over the next few seasons. In 2024 he won NL Player of the Week honors before slumping and getting sent back down to the minors. He torched the Brewers last season in late August but in September he was sent down again, bringing his future with the team into question since he was out of minor league options.

The whole reason he was out of options is because he was called up too soon by Zaidi's front office. One can understand the rationale for the decision while also acknowledging it probably turned out to be the wrong one.

Zaidi's front office had a pattern of rushing prospects up to the big leagues. Remember Wade Meckler? That front office did the same thing with him, calling him up too early in 2023 when he was clearly outmatched by big-league pitching. The Giants had to trade him away this past offseason because he too was out of options.

One could make the point that these players just weren't big-league caliber and the Giants would have found that out at some point, but maybe they were rushed up and their development was impacted as a result. Perhaps a bit more maturation and refinement in the minors would have produced better big-league results.

The current front office led by Buster Posey seems to be much more patient with its prospect promotion. Sure, when exciting talents like Bryce Eldridge have done well they have moved through the minors rather quickly but outside of him they have been pretty patient with their young players.

Zaidi gets plenty of criticism from Giants fans, some earned and some not. Put any executive in his spot and they may have done the exact same thing, but if he had to do it over again maybe he would have waited a little longer before promoting Matos.