Buster Posey was not long ago named president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants, the team for which he spent his entire playing career as an All-Star catcher. This means Posey will be the Giants' top decision-maker on the baseball side, and as such he'll be able to hand-pick his lieutenants in the upper reaches of the front office. Most notably, Posey will be hiring a general manager to serve as his second in command.
Since Posey, 37, is very light on experience when it comes to running a major-league front office, one might think he'd be inclined to seek out a seasoned operator. However, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports, that doesn't appear to be the case. Instead, Posey suggests he's looking for someone with a strong traditional scouting background to fill the GM role. As well, the new GM figures to allow Posey to operate more behind the scenes than is usually the case for lead execs. The Chronicle's Susan Slusser writes:
"Beyond a strong scouting background, the new Giants GM is likely to be the more public-facing member of the front office, handling most media chores, for instance, while Posey makes the final call on potential moves and personnel decisions."
Specifically, Slusser name-checks A's assistant GM Billy Owens, former Nationals director of player development De Jon Watson, and Padres special advisor Logan White as three candidates for the position. That, however, is not an exhaustive list, and the search may be in the earlier stages.
Posey inherits a team that, in the final year under deposed POBO Farhan Zaidi, finished 80-82 and in fourth place in the National League West. The Giants this season missed the postseason for the third straight year.
