SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants’ new general manager grew up in MLB clubhouses and became the youngest scouting director in baseball at the age of 27. He spent more than a decade helping the small-market Milwaukee Brewers contend before spending the last three years as a vice president of pro scouting.
If Zack Minasian worked for one of the other 29 teams, that resume would have put him at the top of the list when the Giants embarked on a search for a new GM earlier this month. While it’s a bit of a surprise that they stayed in-house, Buster Posey ultimately decided that there already was someone in the front office who checked all the boxes.
The Giants on Friday promoted Minasian to be Posey’s general manager. He replaces Pete Putila, who was Farhan Zaidi’s second GM and has been reassigned.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“We are excited for Zack to take on this new role,” Posey said in the press release. “Zack has brought a wealth of knowledge and a lot of experience to the organization in his six years here. He’s also a thorough talent evaluator, but beyond that, he’s a terrific person our community will be proud of. We believe that in this new role he will immediately make us better as a team and organization and I look forward to working alongside him.”
Minasian is the 11th general manager in San Francisco Giants history and will be No. 2 to Posey in a front office that will have a new look but will be filled with holdovers. When Posey took over as president of baseball operations after another disappointing season, he had a clear vision of what he wanted in a partner.
"I think somebody with a scouting background will be important to me," he said after his press conference. "I think someone that is relatable, someone that can not only empower the players or agents that they may come in contact with, but also can relate to the guys or girls on our coaching staff, our medical staff, our strength staff. Because all of those people matter so much for us to accomplish our ultimate goal."
Minasian has a head start because he already has worked with all of those people. Zaidi hired him away from the Brewers shortly after taking over in 2018 and Minasian was later promoted to a VP role.
San Francisco Giants
Find the latest San Francisco Giants news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
The previous regime had its shortcomings, but under Zaidi the Giants were very good at finding value on other rosters and they generally won their trades. Minasian led the pro scouting department at a time when the Giants hit on Kevin Gausman, Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr. and others who simply needed a fresh start. He also has been instrumental in the organization’s efforts overseas, taking multiple trips to Asia the past few years to scout Jung Hoo Lee, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and others.
As GM, Minasian figures to be the point person in most conversations with agents and other front offices. That’s something he already has experience in, and he’ll have a particularly easy time getting one rival exec on the phone. His brother, Perry, is GM of the Los Angeles Angels.
The Minasians grew up in the game because their father Zack Sr., was the longtime clubhouse manager of the Texas Rangers. A third brother, Calvin, works for the Atlanta Braves.
“I’m extremely thankful to Buster and to the Giants organization for this incredible opportunity to help lead our baseball operations department in this new role,” Minasian said in the release. “There is so much to appreciate about this organization – an existing nucleus 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 collaborating alongside Buster, Bob Melvin and the coaching staff, and our entire baseball operations department to begin work on bringing a World Series championship back to San Francisco.”
The Giants have made three changes thus far and have gone internal all three times. Posey went from the board of directors to the president’s chair and J.P. Martinez was promoted when pitching coach Bryan Price stepped down. They soon will need a new hitting coach, too, as Justin Viele is headed to the Texas Rangers.
To continue filling needs, Posey will work closely with Minasian, a man he got to know during his playing days, and Jeremy Shelley, the assistant GM who was part of the organization long before Posey was drafted.
There will be no all-encompassing overhaul for the Giants this offseason, at least behind the scenes. It’s Posey’s vision now and he will make the big decisions, but so far he has made it clear that, as far as the staff is concerned, he believes the Giants are already headed in the right direction.