The San Francisco Giants filled their vacant general manager position on Monday, hiring Houston Astros assistant general manager Pete Putila.
The 33-year-old Carmichaels, Pa., native spent 12 years with the Astros, the past three as assistant GM, during which time Houston got to the 2020 American League Championship Series and the 2021 World Series. The Astros kick off their 2022 postseason in the AL Division Series against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.
Putila becomes the second in command in the San Francisco front office under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.
“We’re all excited to have Pete joining our Baseball Operations leadership team,” Zaidi said in a statement. “Pete has a stellar reputation in the industry as a creative thinker and strong collaborator, and we view him as a seamless fit with our culture of embracing a growth mindset on and off the field.
“We’ve prioritized player development up to and including the major leagues, and Pete’s experience and thought leadership in this space will be a tremendous asset as we continue to strengthen our talent pipeline and build a sustainable winner in San Francisco.”
Putila said in a statement, “I’m very excited for this opportunity and I look forward to collaborating with Farhan and the leadership team. I am both humbled and eager to continue building the winning culture our fans expect and deserve.”
The Giants posted the highest regular-season win total in franchise history last year, going 107-55, before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series. They wound up 81-81 this year, in third place in the West, 30 games behind the division champion Dodgers.
In mid-September, San Francisco GM Scott Harris left the Giants to become the Detroit Tigers’ president of baseball operations.
–Field Level Media