Giants hire Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations

CARLSBAD, San Diego County – Farhan Zaidi, who rose to stardom in the Dodgers teams that appeared in the World Series, is the Giants' new boss, The Chronicle learned Tuesday night.

Zaidi, who turns 42 Sunday, accepted the Giants' offer to run the baseball operations and turn around a team that played poorly the past 2 1/2 seasons and has an old roster, many excessive contracts and a depleted farm system.

Tuesday afternoon, A general manager David Forst called Zaidi a "great candidate for that job" and cited his long-time friend's association with a team of two World Series and familiarity with the Bay Area and the National League West.

"I do not know what else you're looking for," Forst said.

Zaidi left the A's, where he served as GM's assistant, to become the Dodgers' GM in November 2014. After four years in Los Angeles, the Dodgers were not about to get in touch with a promotion in another organization.

Even with a long-time rival.

"That's how we operate," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at the GM meetings at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. "I feel like we've lost a lot of employees in the last three years, but this is a result of the success we've had. I hope it continues to happen, in a weird way. "

The Giants, who fired GM Bobby Evans on Sept. 24, had been searching for someone to replace Evans but the role held by Brian Sabean, who had been the baseball department's top decision-maker since the late '90s. Sabean prefers to step back into an advisory role and focus on scouting, his roots.

CEO Larry Baer had said he was someone with a background in both analytics and scouting, and while Zaidi's reputation is for leaning towards statistical data, Forst said, "This is the last guy who's just a pigeonhole, just an analytics person."

Zaidi has a bachelor's degree in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in behavioral economics from Forst and Billy Beane.

"We originally hired Farhan because of his personality, not because of his PhD or his analytics chops or whatever," said Forst, who clarified his comment by adding, "We sat on the couch in Billy's office and just enjoyed the hour conversation we had with him. Yeah, it helped that he went to MIT and was trying to get a PhD in economics, but he was going to fit in with us. When he left the room after that initial interview, Billy and I were like, 'This guy is great. He's the guy. '"

Having said that, he said, "It is well-known that it is a baseball operations assistant. guys. "

It's believed Zaidi would hire a GM, and it would not be surprising if Zaidi's form colleague, Billy Owens, Oakland's director of personal player and GM assistant, is a candidate.

Owens has been in the organization for 20 years and is scouted at the major-league, amateur and international levels and is well-versed in analytics. He remains tight with Zaidi.

"I absolutely think Bill O's name should be considered anytime there's a GM opening," Forst said.

Forst himself was a candidate for the Giants' top job and called the opportunity "flattering" but said of his role with the A's, who last month gave him a four-year extension, "This is where I wanted to be."

Forst said the Giants is one of the best in baseball, considering renting, market and resources.

"Absolutely. It's one of the prime organizations in the game, "he said. "I'm totally comfortable saying that, sitting across the water looking at the stadium, that organization. Aside from the three titles in this decade, it's San Francisco.

"It's a beautiful stadium they can sell out when they're good. Larry's done an incredible job in the industry. "