Some fans have been searching for scapegoats as the Giants went from the best record in baseball to potentially a losing one, but Giants chairman Greg Johnson apparently is not.
In an interview with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, Johnson assured his commitment to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, manager Gabe Kapler and Kapler’s coaching staff despite the great regression of 2022.
“We are fully behind Farhan and (manager) Gabe (Kapler) and the coaching staff,” Johnson told The Athletic.
Zaidi signed a five-year contract in 2018 with a vision of bringing the type of seemingly unending churn of talent the Dodgers have up north. That hasn’t yet surfaced, but Johnson told The Athletic that he envisions Zaidi to be running the team beyond next season — when his original deal expires.
Baggarly noted that it’s possible the Giants already extended Zaidi, just not publicly. San Francisco extended Kapler’s contract through 2024 after last year’s 107-win campaign.
The Giants have a burgeoning young core of Logan Webb, Joey Bart and Camilo Doval. Infielder David Villar has also had an impressive September after struggling earlier this year.
In some ways, the farm system has stagnated more than Giants hoped this year. Highly touted outfielder Luis Matos suffered a quad injury and hit .211 in High-A. Switch-hitting catcher Patrick Bailey has also struggled from the plate. And aside from Kyle Harrison, there aren’t many exciting starting pitching prospects in the system.
The Giants have often claimed castaways from other teams instead of elevating internally — a signal both of transactional opportunism and of a lack of Major League-ready talent.
But Harrison has been terrific in the minors and could contribute to the Giants next year. Same for third baseman Casey Schmitt, who hit .347 in Double-A Richmond and is lauded for his glove.
Luciano has likewise impressed when healthy — Tuesday night, he crushed a clutch three-run homer in the High-A playoffs — and could start next season at Double-A.
The Giants also made a developmental milestone Tuesday night when Cole Waites became the first player picked by Zaidi and senior director of amateur scouting Michael Harris to wear a Giants jersey. Waites pitched a scoreless seventh inning against the Braves, dancing around traffic.
“We recognize that you have a team that did get older and that presents some challenges, and a farm system that I would say hasn’t progressed as quickly as we’d like to see,” Johnson told The Athletic. “There’s been some injuries to key people and COVID has set back the timeline on development in some cases. But the general direction, the tone, the work ethic, the dedication that these guys put in every day, and the morale we see even in a tough year, we’re very much committed to Farhan and his team.”
San Francisco may need a roster overhaul for a quick turnaround, but based on Johnson’s vote of confidence, it doesn’t sound like there will be major turnover in the front office any time soon.