SAN FRANCISCO -- When Farhan Zaidi was hired in 2018, some of the initial questions were about whether that would lead the Giants to break their run of not making notable moves with the Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers, his two former teams. But the new general manager has the chance to do something even more unique.
Zack Minasian's brother, Perry, is the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels, and if the two are in their respective jobs long enough, they figure to make a noteworthy trade. That would be a first in MLB history, although it won't actually be their first deal.
When the two worked in different roles for the Milwaukee Brewers (Zack) and Toronto Blue Jays (Perry), they helped facilitate a swap of right-hander Shaun Marcum for infielder Brett Lawrie. Last year, Zack was part of the front office group that sent reliever Mike Baumann to the Angels for $100,000.
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On Monday's "Giants Talk" podcast, Zack explained how their close relationship makes it easier to sift through some of the noise that can make trade conversations complicated.
"It is pretty direct. There's no skirting around, there's no 'I'm going to ask for two players with the hopes that he's going to give me one of them,'" he said. "We're just very direct with each other, so it is a little refreshing when I talk to him. We can sense that there's something there for us to work at or there's nothing there and we're just going to move on. So from that standpoint, working with him and that aspect is refreshing."
The Marcum-Lawrie trade ended up being a win-win, although Perry's Blue Jays then made another deal to turn it into a massive move for the organization in the long run. Marcum had a 3.60 ERA in two seasons in the Brewers' rotation and helped them win the NL Central in 2011. Lawrie, a top-50 prospect at the time, was worth 12 WAR in four seasons in Toronto before being flipped to the A's in 2014 in a deal that sent Josh Donaldson to Toronto. Donaldson won the MVP the next year.
"Good baseball trade for both, helped both teams," Perry said. "And that's what a good trade is. It helps out both sides."
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When Zack was hired, Giants fans on social media had some fun with Mike Trout rumors, but Perry's Angels are in go-for-it mode as their star outfielder enters his 15th big league season. They dealt for former Giant Jorge Soler to kick off the hot stove season and also have added veterans Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks and Travis d'Arnaud. Zack and his boss, Buster Posey, made their big splash earlier this month with the addition of Willy Adames, and have since shifted their focus to upgrading the rotation.
The Giants and Angels both finished well out of the postseason race last year. Changing that, not getting a brother-and-brother trade out of the way, is the focus right now.
"For me, it just goes back to whatever we have to do to put a winner on the field is what I want to do," Zack said. "If that involves making a trade with the Angels, great. If it doesn't, that's fine."