SF Giants extend president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi through 2026
The SF Giants made some unexpected news on Wednesday during the introductory press conference for recently hired manager Bob Melvin. While Melvin's contract spans through 2026, chairman Greg Johnson announced that San Francisco has agreed in principle on a contract extension with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi through 2026. Zaidi was slated to enter the final year of his contract.
SF Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi talks with a reporter. (2021)
D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
The extension will keep Melvin and Zaidi's contracts synced going forward, but also solidifies that the organization seemingly fully blames recently fired manager Gabe Kapler and his coaching staff for the team's shortcomings. Kapler was the scapegoat for a mediocre 2023 season. Whether that
Zaidi has been the Giants' president of baseball operations for five seasons, and the results have been mixed. While he has won far more trades than he has lost, San Francisco's forays into free agency have been fairly mixed. The team has done a good job finding high-level starting pitching for mid-tier contracts, but they have yet to make a massive long-term addition.
Moreover, in the standings, the 2021 Giants remain Zaidi's only season where the team finished with an above .500 record. There was an understanding when Zaidi was hired that San Francisco would have an uphill battle to build a contender quickly, but the inability to sustain any success after winning 107 games in 2021 has justifiably raised some concerns.
Of course, Zaidi did play a major part in building the roster in 2021 that won 107 games. While holdovers like Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, and Brandon Belt, and Logan Webb were four of the best players on the team, ace Kevin Gausman and several other contributors had been added to the organization after Zaidi's hiring.
It's worth remembering that a contract extension does not necessarily insure Farhan Zaidi's long-term future. It does seem far less likely that he will be fired in 2024, but Kapler was fired with another year remaining on his contract. Regardless, Zaidi will hope to quell any of those concerns with a successful season in 2024 that gets the SF Giants back to the postseason.
