SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey had his introductory press conference Tuesday morning as the new President of Baseball Operations for the San Francisco Giants.
Bob Melvin, the club’s manager, and Greg Johnson, chairman of the board of directors and control person for the Giants were presented alongside Posey at the conference.
The San Francisco Giants won the NL West in 2021 and were the first team to win more than 106 games since 1986. Posey then retired from the Giants in November 2021 and became part of the club ownership group a year after retirement in 2022.
Farhan Zaidi was the President of Baseball Operations for six seasons. Zaidi was the Giant's top decision in 2018 but was replaced by Posey.
The 35-minute press conference played out inside San Francisco’s Oracle Park. Melvin and Johnson introduced Posey to the team and talked plans for the next Giants season.
Here are three major takeaways from his first press conference as President of Baseball Operations:
Looking for a GM
Looking into this season's possible changes, Posey hopes to bring in a general manager to serve as a leader to the players and community.
Posey describes the positive impact scouting has on teams and hopes somebody has that during the search for a GM.
“I think we get going on this right away, get some potential candidates in and get interviews going," Posey said during the press conference. "As far as qualities I want a leader, I want a servant leader. I want somebody that again is (going to) empower the people that are working with them and for them. Ideally, somebody that does have somewhat of a scouting background. I think will be important for me as well."
The organization's brand
Posey discusses the importance of the organization and how the Giants' identity is a big part on and off the field when it comes to baseball.
Some people think the brand has been tarnished or senseless due to the last couple of seasons for the Giants, but Posey believes the organization will be able to rebuild by how athletes choose to think on and off the field.
“I mean, I think that's a lot of discussions we're gonna be having over the next weeks and months is about our identity, and, again, I wanna be clear, like, our identity really boils down to the players on the field and the way that they play and the type of players they are and how they handle themselves, not only on the field but in the community,” Posey said. “I think that's gonna be a big part of the discussion is what really is important to us as an organization and what are we gonna hang our hat on at the end of the day?”
One team left in a massive market area
The Giants are the only major league team left in the Bay Area since the Oakland A’s will be playing in Sacramento.
Each year, teams that surpass a set payroll limit must pay a Competitive Balance Tax, often called a "luxury tax."
"We don't set a number every year,” Johnson said at the press conference. “We look at what we need to do...like we did last year where, you had a couple of good players available at the end, you went over the luxury tax.”
Teams with payrolls over this limit are taxed on every dollar exceeding it, with the tax rate rising based on how many consecutive years they exceed the threshold.
“We will do it if we have to, and we will spend what we need to put a a winning team on the field,” Johnson said.
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