After four seasons as the Giants president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi has recently been under fire after San Francisco missed the MLB playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper joined NBC Sports Bay Area's Laura Britt and Cole Kuiper on a recent episode of the "Giants Talk" podcast and explained why new manager Bob Melvin's ties to Zaidi are crucial for an organization looking to right the ship after a couple of underwhelming campaigns.
"Well, I thought it interesting that Bob Melvin said if Farhan [Zaidi] only had a year left, then he would sign a one-year contract," Kuiper said. "The [general manager] and managers have to be joined at the hip. I think although Farhan has had his critics, he's done a lot with a little. He's tried, and the organization has tried to do a lot with writing the check, opening up the checkbook. For whatever reason, that hasn't worked out. I mean, look, they got an agreement with [Carlos] Correa, and we know how that ended up."
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Kuiper then detailed that despite the lack of success in recent seasons, his faith in Zaidi remains unwavering.
"So they've just got to keep trying, and I think Farhan is the right guy for the job, I really do," Kuiper shared. "I like him a lot, I like his personality. He's been super honest, especially with the broadcasters. We meet with Farhan twice a month in our broadcast booth … and he is really open. He will say, 'Ask me anything. Anything, and I'll do my very best to answer it,' and he's been really honest with us … That's how you build a relationship, and I'm really glad he's aboard."
The Giants showed their support of Zaidi in the form of a contract extension that runs through the 2026 season, mirroring the deal that Melvin also received from the team.
Since the Giants hired Zaidi in November 2018, San Francisco has posted a 375-338 record, with their lone postseason appearance over that span coming during the 2021 MLB season when the team won a franchise-record 107 regular-season games.
San Francisco Giants
With a massive offseason ahead, Zaidi will look to re-tool the Giants' roster this winter in an effort to make the team a postseason contender once again.