The San Francisco Giants hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations in 2018, poaching the Los Angeles Dodgers general manager and bringing him back to the Bay Area. Years later, Zaidi’s tenure has largely been a disappointment.
Zaidi took over as the Giants president of baseball operations years after they won three World Series titles in five years. He joined the team in November 2018, taking over after a season that saw San Francisco go 73-89. The hope was that Zaidi would do for the Giants what he did for the Dodgers.
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San Francisco has only come close to the Dodgers once since hiring Zaidi, a lone playoff appearance following a 107-win season in 2021. Many around the organization hoped that would be the start of a breakout run, but San Francisco is currently on track for its third consecutive season with a .500 record or worse.
Disappointing on-field results are the biggest reasons why many fans have called for Zaidi to be fired, but there’s another problem just as significant. Despite Zaidi’s track record in building farm systems with the Dodgers, the Giants farm system is currently rated as one of the worst in MLB by FanGraphs and MLB.com.
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Unable to scout and develop talent consistently, San Francisco has always routinely struck out on its top targets in MLB free agency during Ziaid’s tenure. the primary reason the Giants landed Matt Chapman and Blake Snell this past winter is that both players didn’t sign until spring training due to weak markets. However, it appears Zaidi is safe for another year.
Fansided‘s MLB insider Robert Murray wrote that the Chapman extension “likely ensures” the Giants will bring Zaidi back as their president of baseball operations in 2025, calling it “unimaginable” that he would be fired.
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This is backed up by Bob Nightengale of USA Today who reported Sunday that no MLB general managers, including Zaidi, are likely to be fired this winter. One of the biggest pieces of evidence both MLB insiders believe hint at the decision already being made is San Francisco allowing Zaidi to negotiate Chapman’s deal.
Meanwhile, without Zaidi, the Dodgers have won a World Series and perennially remain one of the best teams in baseball. As for the Giants, they are years away from World Series contention.
