MLB Rumors: SF Giants Not Signing Big Names, Going 'Strength In Numbers' Route

The San Francisco Giants are taking a Golden State Warriors-esque approach in the MLB for the years to come.

The Giants are keen on a route similar to their Bay Area's NBA counterpart when it comes to building its roster, according to Tim Kawakami's show.

Instead of going after big names, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi will put premium on continuity and building a roster "where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts."

The line strikingly draws comparisons to the Warriors' "Strength In Numbers" mantra, which they embodied throughout their dynasty run in the 2010s.

“Nobody’s going to turn down superstar players or if the right opportunity presents itself; I don’t think we have an aversion to it,” Zaidi, who joined the Giants front office in 2018, said.

“But baseball is a sport where you’re just trying to build a roster where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And if some of those parts are superstars, great. But if that’s just not the composition of your roster, there are many ways to build a winning ball club."

The Giants hold the National League West-best record of 22-14, on pace to win 90-plus games—a vast improvement from their 29-31 finish in 2020, where they missed the playoffs.

"The short answer to that question is no, I don’t think we think about a Major League Baseball roster being something you build from the top down," Zaidi answered when asked about aggressively pursuing superstars in the offseason.

"You just have to have the attention to detail on every spot from one to 26 and just build the best team that you can.”

As pointed out by Kawakami, the business executive may have also hinted at contract extensions for Giants who are under expiring deals to build on such continuity.

“Anytime you have success as a team, which we had some of last year and sort of continued early this season, you start thinking about continuity and the value of it,” Zaidi said.

The 44-year-old Zaidi previously had been the general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and under his watch, the team made two World Series appearances.

That tenure made Zaidi see the importance of continuity even more.

“When I went down to L.A. there was more of a chance to keep key players and have more continuity," he stressed. "And having that experience for me really demonstrated the value of that."

Not that the Giants do have the luxury and financial flexibility to spend on marquee names, but Zaidi will rather have the payroll dedicated to

“We’re certainly in the situation here where, as things play out, we’ll have the financial capability to retain players where it makes sense," he said.

"We’re not having those conversations now, but I would anticipate as this season plays out, we’ll think about that more."

Before his stints with the Dodgers and Giants, Zaidi was assistant general manager for the Oakland Athletics.

When he joined the Giants, Zaidi was described as someone "fluent in the language of baseball's modern metrics."

Now a decade in the business, the brilliant decision-maker is making his impact felt in California sports from his seat in the Giants offcie.