A lot has changed in the Giants’ orbit in the last two-plus weeks, and now the franchise feels like it’s floating aimlessly in space.
On September 14, Giants owner Greg Johnson spoke with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and expressed his public support for manager Gabe Kapler and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. But on Friday, Kapler was fired and was not allowed to finish his fourth season in San Francisco.
That leaves Zaidi as the man responsible for finding the next Giants manager and figuring out how to turn the team’s fortunes around in 2024.
Shortly after the Giants announced Kapler’s firing on Friday, Zaidi met with local reporters and was asked about Johnson’s previous comments to Slusser.
“Greg has kind of publicly expressed his support for me and his expectation that I come back next year,” Zaidi said. “I think I want to be clear that this support does not represent an endorsement of what we have done over the last two seasons or any level of joy or satisfaction with the results we have achieved. I think Greg’s pretty unhappy with that. “We’re around .500 and haven’t been in the playoffs the last few years like all of us.
The Giants missed the MLB playoffs in three of four years as Kapler’s manager, including this season in which they were 13 games above .500 in early August. But a two-month collapse has doomed San Francisco and they won’t even finish at .500.
The Giants’ lack of roster talent is obvious and it falls to Zaidi to fix the problem, whether through MLB free agency or through trades.
And with only one year left on Zaidi’s contract, the pressure is immense.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations about how we get back to where we want to be and need to be,” Zaidi said. “We want to have a product that our fans are excited about, a product that our fans will come to the stadium to see. And I know that I think that’s what the owners want to see.”
Fans and media pundits have openly pointed out that the squad lacks excitement and star power. That’s something Zaidi is well aware of as he heads into a vital offseason.
“I know a lot of you personally and a lot of good people in this group, and you honestly haven’t had a lot of positive things to write about over the last few seasons,” Zaidi said. “And I think from an ownership perspective, from my perspective, it’s our responsibility to change the narrative around this team. We want people to feel good and excited about the team. We’ve had a lot of conversations about it.”
But as Zaidi saw with Kapler, a vote of confidence from the owners is not valid. In professional sports, opinions can change very quickly.
“To answer your question, I know Greg has addressed it before and I have gotten support to do what we need to do,” Zaidi said. “But even that doesn’t mean the board is happy or that Greg is happy with the teams’ performance over the last few years, because no one is.”
Zaidi will have to select a new manager soon, probably in the next month or so, before free agency begins after the conclusion of the World Series. Then he has to adjust a squad that appears to be regressing. With a franchise-record 107 wins in 2021, the Giants finished 81-81 last season. This year, the best they can do is 80-82, depending on how the last two games turn out.
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To compete with the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers, the surging Arizona Diamondbacks and the star-studded San Diego Padres in the NL West, the Giants need improvements throughout the roster and throughout the minor league system.
If Zaidi cannot do this quickly, Johnson may have to withdraw his support.
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