Tag: Pete Putila

Giants fire Zaidi replace him with Posey; Firing was a long anticipated event

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Buster Posey takes over as the San Francisco Giants new team president as on Mon Sep 30, 2024 replacing former Giants president Farhan Zaidi (photo from mlb.com)

By Lewis Rubman and Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–After six seasons the San Francisco Giants have moved on from team president Farhan Zaidi and have replaced him with former Giants catcher and part owner Buster Posey. Zaidi had one more year left on his guaranteed contract as the Giants missed going to the playoffs for the third straight year.

The Giants who completed their regular season finished two games below .500 at 80-82 and were 453-417 during Zaidi’s six year tenure. Under Zaidi the Giants had one winning year. Zaidi had hired former Giants manager Gabe Kapler who was later fired after the 2023 season. It was under Kapler the Giants had that one winning season in 2021 when San Francisco won 107 games.

The firing on Monday marks the second big firing the Giants have made after Kapler now Zaidi being the second. Zaidi was mentioned by critics as someone the Giants should have let go with Kapler after the 2023 season. The Giants hiring of Bob Melvin for the 2024 season was a positive and gave Zaidi one last chance to steer the club to a winning season which it failed to do.

Beginning and during the 2024 season under Zaidi the Giants spent over$320 million on signing free agents Jung Hoo Lee, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler, Jordan Hicks and Tom Murphy. The Giants also added Robbie Ray to their pitching core signing a player that wouldn’t be available until July for another $74 million. The Giants were hoping the moves would pay off as they also gave up two draft picks, it didn’t they ended up going over the luxury tax for the first time since 2017.

Posey was instrumental in getting Chapman signed on Sep 5th to a six year $151 million contract that will keep Chapman in San Francisco through 2030. After the Chapman signing some in the media said that Posey would be a good fit for team president to replace Zaidi. Posey was also instrumental in helping those World Series teams win during his time as catcher and he might be able to get the Giants to the post season under his presidency.

Giants general manager Peter Putila someone no one ever really mentions in the press about what his role was in the Zaidi firing as of now still remains team general manager.

Lewis Rubman and Stephen Ruderman are both Giants beat writers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Big Star Free Agents do not come to San Francisco

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto is being sought by the New York Mets brass who flew out to Japan to meet him. The San Francisco Giants are interested in obtaining Yamamoto’s services. Teams seeking Yamamoto will likely turn out to be a bidding war. (AP News file photo)

Big Star Free Agents do not come to San Francisco

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SAN FRANCISCO–Last year, the Giants tried to lure free agents Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, but they failed; other big stars like Bryce Harper (when he was a Free-Agent) have spurned the Giants. It has become much more common now that many big-name free-agent players dislike coming and playing in San Francisco.

It is not the money because the players I am talking about get the cash they want anywhere. It could be about the reputation that San Francisco has nationwide nowadays. Could it be the City by the Bay social-political situation has become not a favorite destination for some of the game’s biggest stars?

Most of these big-name free-agent players that get those multi-million dollar contracts tend to be conservative or non-political, and sometimes San Francisco doesn’t ‘rub them well”. They are all aware of this because, in today’s communication world, there is more than enough information out there, especially in social media.

This is what Farhan Zaidi, GM of the Giants, told Sussan Slusser of the SF Chronicle last year: “When we’re doing our research on free agents, and we find that players aren’t really that happy even coming into town for a three-game series, they’re probably not going to be that excited to play there for a long time.

So I think that’s part of what fueled our strategy of targeting guys with Bay Area ties. … Free agency is really, really competitive, especially at the top of the market. Even when you think you can sign a player, you’re probably not; that’s how it works. So when you don’t think you’ll sign a player, you’re definitely not going to sign him.”

No team needed Ohtani more than the Giants, but he is also not coming here. After Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, another Japanese player remains of high value; it is pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the best pitcher in Japan; estimates of this 25-year-old pitching star are that he could earn as much as a $300 million contract, and the Dodgers (of course) will go after him to paired him with Ohtani as they both won the 2023 World Baseball Classic together and have been playing together for years now.

Other free agents are Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Jung-Hoo Lee, Teoscar Hernández, JD Martínez, Dylan Cease, Blake Snell, Corbin Burns, and Tyler Glasnow. Giants could use some more power in that lineup; Bellinger might be a good choice.

This 2023 off-season, the Giants went after Shohei Ohtani (who, like Aaron Judge last year, was the biggest fish to catch). Still, Ohtani decided to stay in Southern California and signed the richest-ever contract in American sports with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a 10-year mega-deal for $700 million.

Another reason for Giants fans to hate the Dodgers, but at this time, the Giants fans cannot be pleased with their General Manager Pete Putila. Is he a victim of circumstances that are beyond his control? What can you do if you offer big money contracts but players do not consider your offers? The mega-stars are not coming to San Francisco.

Note: Tom Cruise made $100 million for “Top Gun: Maverick,” his most recent movie, a worldwide success. Ohtani is making $700 million in 10 years with the Dodgers, also in Hollywood.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com