Giants legend Buster Posey takes over as team leader while San Francisco fires Farhan Zaidi

The San Francisco Giants have fired president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and replaced him with franchise legend Buster Posey, the team announced Monday.

Zaidi was signed by the Giants on November 6, 2018. Of his six seasons at the helm, the Giants only posted a winning record once. It was a franchise-record season with 107 wins in 2021, but that was still the outlier. Otherwise, the Giants were pretty stagnant, winning 81, 79 and 80 games in the three following seasons. Their only postseason appearance during his tenure ended in a 3-2 NLDS loss to the Dodgers.

During Zaidi's record Put him in the hot seatperhaps what he didn't do was the biggest sign. The Giants' addition of All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman was supposedly negotiated by Posey, not Zaidi. And sure enough, they're officially taking over Posey as the man running the show in San Francisco.

The Giants' official announcement:

We have made the decision to part ways with Farhan Zaidi. We appreciate Farhan's commitment to the organization and his passion for making a difference in our community during his six years with the Giants. Ultimately, the results were not what we had hoped for, and while we all share this responsibility, we decided that a change was necessary. Although these decisions are not easy, we believe it is time for new leadership to strengthen our team so we can continually compete for championships. I wish Farhan and his family all the best for the future.

Looking forward, I am pleased to announce that Buster Posey will now take on a larger role as the new President of Baseball Operations. We are looking for someone who can define, lead and lead the baseball philosophy of this franchise and we feel Buster is a perfect fit. Buster has the demeanor, intelligence and drive to get the job done, and we are confident that he and Bob Melvin will work together to bring successful baseball back to San Francisco.

Posey, 37, spent his entire 12-year big league career with the Giants after being selected fifth overall by the ballclub in the 2008 draft. He won the Rookie of the Year, the 2012 MVP, three World Series and was an All-Star seven times.

Posey retired from his playing career after the 2021 season. He was an All-Star, hitting .304 with an OPS+ of 140 at age 34, but still decided he was done playing.

In late September 2022, Posey joined the Giants' ownership group and became a member of the board of directors, whose influence has steadily increased since then. Now he is the top decision maker.