The San Francisco Giants are set to miss the playoffs this season, and with there being some talk about president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi being dismissed, there are two names that have been rumored as potential replacement targets.
“If the San Francisco Giants dismiss Farhan Zaidi, president of baseball operations, at the season's conclusion, look for them to reach out to former Miami Marlins GM Kim Ng and Minnesota Twins GM Thad Levine as potential replacements,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. “The Giants have missed the postseason in all but two years since winning the 2014 World Series.”
These are two interesting candidates for the Giants, if they move on from Zaidi. Kim Ng is a big name due to her work with the Miami Marlins, helping them get into the playoffs in 2023 before leaving the organization. Kim Ng was also the first woman to serve as general manager in MLB. Thad Levine is the general manager of the Minnesota Twins and works under president Derek Falvey. The Twins have a competitive team that is on the playoff bubble this season.
If the Giants decide to move on from Zaidi, it will be interesting to see if either of these two candidates surface in reports.
Farhan Zaidi's tenure with Giants
The Giants hired Zaidi to be their president in 2018 from the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Francisco has made the playoffs one time in his tenure, which was in 2021, when the team lost to the Dodgers in five games in the NLDS. The 2021 season was incredible for the Giants, as they won 107 games, but it has been frustrating outside of that during Zaidi's tenure.
2019 was the first season for the Giants under Zaidi, and they went 77-85, which is not shocking given that San Francisco was at the end of things with the players from the dynasty teams. In the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, San Francisco went 29-31, before that incredible 2021 season in which they went 107-55. The Giants then followed that season up with a .500 record in 2022, then 79-83 in 2023, and a current record of 76-79 so far in 2024.
What has defined the last few years for the Giants is missing out on top free agents. They missed out on top target Aaron Judge in free agency ahead of 2023, and pivoted to Carlos Correa. To be fair, the Giants and Correa came to an agreement, but it fell apart due to medicals.
Regardless, the Giants have disappointed in recent years, and it will be interesting to see if the organization moves on from Zaidi.