At his introductory press conference, Buster Posey, the Giants' recent president of baseball operations, said he desired to hire a general manager with a scouting background. After a month-long search, Posey got here across a candidate with whom he and the organization were already familiar.

The Giants officially announced Friday afternoon that Zack Minasian will turn into the team's eleventh general manager since moving to San Francisco, moving from his previous role because the team's vice chairman of professional scouting.

“We are excited to have Zack take on this new role,” Posey said in a press release. “Zack has brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization in his six years here. He is also a thorough talent evaluator, but more than that, he is a great person that our community will be proud of. We believe he will immediately improve us as a team and organization in this new role and I look forward to working with him.”

Minasian, 41, will replace Pete Putila, who will tackle a distinct role within the organization. Prior to the move, Putila served because the team's general manager for the past two seasons under former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who was fired in late September.

Minasian won't have much time to benefit from the recent role before attending to work. Free agents are eligible to sign with recent teams five days after the World Series, which ended Wednesday night when the Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games. Additionally, the GM meetings are next week (November 5-7) and the Winter meetings (December 9-12) are coming up.

“I am extremely grateful to Buster and the Giants organization for this incredible opportunity to lead our baseball department in this new role,” Minasian said in a press release. “There is so much to appreciate about this organization – an existing core of talent on both the major league roster and throughout the minor league system, a passionate fan base, an incredible alumni group and the organization's commitment to the community. “I look forward to working with Buster, Bob Melvin and the coaching staff, as well as our entire baseball department, to begin the work of bringing a World Series championship back to San Francisco.”

Minasian is a real baseball fan. Starting on the age of 5, Minasian worked as a bat boy and clubhouse attendant together with his father, Zack Sr., a longtime clubhouse manager for the Texas Rangers from 1988 to 2009.

One of Minasian's brothers, Perry, is currently the final manager of the Los Angeles Angels. Zack and Perry are the primary siblings in Major League history to concurrently function general managers. Along with Perry, Zack's brother Calvin is the Atlanta Braves' clubhouse manager. He can be the godson of the late Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda and his wife Jo.

Minasian joined the Giants in 2019 after spending 14 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. Most recently, he served because the team's special advisor for baseball operations. He also served because the team's director of skilled scouting, manager of minor league scouting, personnel/coordinator of professional scouting and baseball operations assistant. When Minasian joined the organization, he emphasized the importance of in-person scouting slightly than simply counting on data.

“With so much data available to front offices, there are some front offices that just feel more comfortable relying on the data and a scout rather than just relying on the scout, whatever that is Right is,” Minasian told this news organization. “I kind of look at it as a buffet. I want to be able to choose the information that I think is most important.”

Originally published: November 1, 2024 at 12:20 PM PDT

The offseason is here and the Giants' recent president of baseball operations, Buster Posey, appears to have checked off his first box.

The The Giants are expected to sign Zack Minasian named the team's recent general manager, in accordance with Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Giants haven’t yet confirmed the move.

Minasian joined the Giants in 2019 as director of professional scouting after spending 14 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2022, Minasian was promoted to vp of professional scouting in San Francisco.

Minasian is the brother of Angels general manager Perry Minasian, and he grew up across the game as his father, Zack Sr., was a clubhouse attendant for the Texas Rangers. Another brother, Calvin, is the clubhouse coordinator for the Washington Nationals.

Posey said in his opening statement as the brand new team president that he would goal a general manager with a scouting background, and Minasian has that.

There's loads of work ahead of the Giants' next general manager in the approaching weeks: MLB's general managers' meetings are scheduled for next week in San Antonio, a month before the league's winter meetings in Dallas.

The MLB free agency period began Thursday, a day after the Dodgers won the World Series with a Game 5 win over the Yankees. Teams can begin signing recent players on Monday at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Pete Putila, the previous Giants GM hired for the job in 2022, is predicted to stay with the organization in one other role, Posey said at his introduction.

Minasian's baseball connections include being “baptized” in Dodger blue, he told this news organization during his first spring training with the Giants. His godfather is former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who called him “Benedict Arnold” when he moved from the Brewers to San Francisco.

Upon his arrival, he emphasized the importance of private scouting, as some teams had devalued the practice and relied more on analytics.

“With so much data available to front offices, there are some front offices that just feel more comfortable relying on the data and a scout rather than just relying on the scout, whatever that is Right is,” Minasian told this news organization. “I kind of look at it as a buffet. I want to be able to choose the information that I think is most important.”

Minasian was one among Farhan Zaidi's first hires when he became the Giants' president of baseball operations in 2019. Now he’s Posey's first big signing after taking up from Zaidi.

Originally published: October 31, 2024 at 2:26 pm PDT