Two weeks ago, it was clear that both Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler would return for the 2024 MLB season.
Now, it's fair to wonder if that's still true.
Giants owner Greg Johnson recently told the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser that both Zaidi and Kapler would return next season, but in an appearance with KNBR 680's "Tolbert & Copes" on Thursday, Zaidi himself would not confirm that his manager will return next season.
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"I mean, obviously I said at the time [of Johnson's comments] I really appreciate the support from ownership and the plan to have us both back," Zaidi told Copeland and Tolbert. "Right now our focus is getting through these last few games, finishing strong, finishing at .500. I think we all just have to look at how we can improve across the board.
"That's the personnel on the roster, that's our culture in the clubhouse -- which I think when you're playing well, certain things culturally are portrayed as, 'Hey this group loves being together, they're having fun.' But when you're not doing well those things can be seen in a negative light."
The Giants were in possession of a wild-card spot before the recent 10-game road trip and needed to finish the season strong in order to punch their ticket to the playoffs. However, after going 2-8 on the trip, San Francisco plummeted out of playoff contention and officially was eliminated after Tuesday's loss to the San Diego Padres.
How that crucial road trip played out for the Giants and the overall feeling around the team is why Zaidi believes the organization needs to evaluate every aspect of the team this offseason.
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"I just think we have to look at everything and there's certainly a time and place for everything," Zaidi added. "I've been talking to a few people about how 162 games is a grind and we want our players to be comfortable and be able to wash off some of the tough losses and things like that.
"But when you're in do-or-die games like those games in Arizona, you want them to feel different and I think we're going to have to ask ourselves if we're prepared to sort of elevate our level of focus and play for those games that really mattered down the stretch."
Wednesday's loss ended any hopes the Giants had of finishing the 2023 season with a winning record. With three games remaining, the Giants will look to sweep the rival Los Angeles Dodgers and finish the season with another mediocre .500 record before getting to work on what certainly will be another busy offseason.