RRosternomics
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FZ

Farhan Zaidi

An analytics-trained executive (Oakland and Los Angeles) who became president of baseball operations of the San Francisco Giants, engineering a surprise 107-win season in 2021.

10 seasons with salary-era data across 2 stints. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.

Overview

Titles0
Pennants2
Playoffs5
Record832–687
Win %0.548
+1.8GM WAR — wins above a replacement GM (org-adjusted, shrunk; per season) ±4.738th/195 execs
7.3Depth — 2+ WAR regulars per season (the breadth that drives TAB, not stars)35th/195 execs
-4.4Dead WAR — WAR/yr bled by sub-replacement players (closer to 0 = better)47th/195 execs
31%Dead money — payroll on <0.5-WAR players (lower = better)70th/195 execs
$37MCheap-talent surplus — $/yr of value from cost-controlled (pre-arb/arb) players above their pay; the selection engine, and the stickiest GM skill we track30th/195 execs
$16MDrafted surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own draftees (the develop-from-the-draft engine)30th/195 execs
$18MTraded-for surplus — cheap-talent surplus from cost-controlled players he acquired via trade17th/195 execs
$0MInt'l surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own international signees117th/195 execs
+21.3TAB — talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation), tenure total35th/195 execs
+28.9WAB — realized wins (TAB + the non-repeatable luck of converting talent to wins)30th/195 execs
3.13Acquisition Leverage — playoff pts per acquired WAR, graded once in the year each deal's wins arrive (the repeatable decision skill)41st/195 execs
-426Roster surplus $M183rd/195 execs

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
▸ Giants POBO 2019–2024 5 +2.0 +0.40 -15.9 -70.7 +32.7 +7.3 -9.6 -2.6 2.44 0.521 1–– -269
▸ Dodgers GM 2015–2018 4 +26.9 +6.73 +37.1 -49.2 +65.4 -16.4 -123.1 +0.1 4.66 0.584 42– -157
Career total (1985+ data) 10 +28.9 +21.3 -119.9 +98.1 -9.0 -132.7 -2.5 3.13 0.548 52 – -426

Roster Construction

How the roster was sourced

by valueby volume

Share of acquired fWAR by channel vs. league average.

Build channels — net fWAR

Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.

Home-grown (draft/intl)+98.1
Trade-9.0
Free agency-132.7
Rule 5 / minor draft-2.5
Sourcing mix: 40% draft · 43% FA · 17% trade · 0% R5

Roster value distribution — career average — depth vs. stars

Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR, averaged across Farhan Zaidi's seasons. Bars = his rosters; the black line = the league-average player at each slot. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge.

Players acquired — 216 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year Szns fWAR WAR/yr Lev
Max Muncy 1B/3B LAD Free agency 2017 9 +26.2 +2.9 14.6
Will Smith C LAD Draft 2016 8 +23.4 +2.9 –
Yasmani Grandal C LAD Trade 2015 4 +20.6 +5.2 31.0
Walker Buehler P LAD Draft 2015 5 +15.2 +3.0 –
Chris Taylor OF LAD Trade 2016 8 +11.9 +1.5 1.6
Mike Yastrzemski OF SFG Trade 2019 7 +11.3 +1.6 –
Matt Chapman 3B SFG Free agency 2024 3 +10.5 +3.5 3.0
Patrick Bailey C SFG Draft 2023 3 +10.2 +3.4 –
Kenta Maeda P LAD Draft 2016 4 +9.9 +2.5 –
Thairo Estrada 2B SFG Trade 2021 4 +7.8 +2.0 5.2
Enrique Hernández OF LAD Trade 2015 8 +6.8 +0.9 8.0
Alex Wood P LAD Trade 2015 4 +6.7 +1.7 3.1
Kevin Gausman P SFG Free agency 2019 2 +6.6 +3.3 20.8
Tony Gonsolin P LAD Draft 2016 5 +6.3 +1.3 –
Carlos Rodón P SFG Free agency 2022 1 +6.2 +6.2 5.7
Wilmer Flores 1B SFG Free agency 2020 4 +5.7 +1.4 13.5
Alex Cobb P SFG Free agency 2021 2 +5.5 +2.8 4.1
Gavin Lux 2B LAD Draft 2016 5 +5.4 +1.1 –
Rich Hill P LAD Trade 2016 4 +4.7 +1.2 7.4
Willy Adames SS SFG Free agency 2024 2 +4.3 +2.1 2.9
Alex Wood P SFG Free agency 2021 3 +4.2 +1.4 10.1
LaMonte Wade 1B/OF SFG Trade 2021 4 +4.1 +1.0 8.6
Anthony DeSclafani P SFG Free agency 2020 3 +3.8 +1.3 12.7
Landen Roupp P SFG Draft 2024 3 +3.8 +1.3 –
Donovan Solano 2B SFG Free agency 2019 3 +3.8 +1.3 0.1
Heliot Ramos OF SFG Draft 2022 3 +3.7 +1.2 –
Jung Hoo Lee OF SFG Draft 2024 3 +3.5 +1.2 –
Dustin May P LAD Draft 2016 6 +3.4 +0.6 –
Darin Ruf 1B/OF SFG Free agency 2020 4 +3.4 +0.9 6.0
Tyler Fitzgerald 2B/SS SFG Draft 2023 3 +3.3 +1.1 –
J. D. Davis 3B SFG Trade 2022 2 +3.2 +1.6 1.3
Joc Pederson DH/OF SFG Free agency 2022 2 +3.1 +1.5 2.9
Blake Snell P SFG Free agency 2024 1 +3.1 +3.1 1.9
Robbie Ray P SFG Trade 2024 3 +2.7 +0.9 0.0
Manny Machado 3B LAD Trade 2018 1 +2.7 +2.7 9.2
Ryan Walker P SFG Draft 2023 3 +2.6 +0.9 –
Casey Schmitt 2B/3B SFG Draft 2023 3 +2.5 +0.8 –
Brandon McCarthy P LAD Trade 2016 2 +2.3 +1.2 3.8
Alex Dickerson OF SFG Trade 2019 3 +2.2 +0.7 0.0
Michael Conforto OF SFG Free agency 2023 2 +2.1 +1.0 0.5
Jakob Junis P SFG Free agency 2022 2 +2.1 +1.0 1.7
Matt Kemp OF LAD Trade 2017 9 +2.0 +0.2 –
Randy Rodríguez P SFG Draft 2024 2 +2.0 +1.0 –
Chase Utley 2B LAD Free agency 2015 4 +1.9 +0.5 1.4
Dylan Floro P LAD Trade 2018 3 +1.8 +0.6 2.0
David Freese 3B LAD Trade 2018 2 +1.7 +0.8 2.2
Andrew Toles OF LAD Trade 2016 2 +1.7 +0.8 –
Brandon Morrow P LAD Free agency 2017 1 +1.6 +1.6 4.0
Mauricio Dubón 2B/OF SFG Trade 2019 4 +1.6 +0.4 0.0
Joe Kelly P LAD Free agency 2018 4 +1.2 +0.3 0.1
John Brebbia P SFG Free agency 2020 2 +1.2 +0.6 1.1
Sean Manaea P SFG Free agency 2022 1 +1.2 +1.2 0.7
Trevor McDonald P SFG Draft 2024 3 +1.2 +0.4 –
Howie Kendrick 2B LAD Free agency 2016 2 +1.1 +0.5 12.6
Jake McGee P SFG Free agency 2021 1 +1.1 +1.1 4.9
Brett Anderson P LAD Trade 2015 1 +1.1 +1.1 7.4
Luis Avilán P LAD Trade 2015 3 +1.1 +0.4 0.3
Daniel Hudson P LAD Free agency 2018 3 +1.0 +0.3 1.6
Scott Alexander P SFG Free agency 2022 2 +1.0 +0.5 0.4
Tony Cingrani P LAD Trade 2017 2 +1.0 +0.5 1.3
Dominic Leone P SFG Free agency 2020 2 +0.9 +0.5 4.0
Drew Smyly P SFG Free agency 2020 1 +0.9 +0.9 11.9
Yu Darvish P LAD Trade 2017 1 +0.9 +0.9 2.3
Kevin Pillar OF SFG Trade 2019 1 +0.9 +0.9 0.0
Scott Kazmir P LAD Free agency 2015 1 +0.8 +0.8 5.5
Tyler Anderson P SFG Free agency 2019 1 +0.8 +0.8 9.6
Stephen Vogt C SFG Free agency 2019 1 +0.8 +0.8 0.0
Matt Beaty 1B/OF LAD Draft 2015 2 +0.7 +0.4 –
Joe Blanton P LAD Free agency 2016 2 +0.7 +0.4 0.9
Edwin Ríos 1B/3B/DH LAD Draft 2015 3 +0.7 +0.2 –
José Álvarez P SFG Free agency 2021 1 +0.7 +0.7 4.9
Kyle Harrison P SFG Draft 2023 2 +0.7 +0.4 –
Erik Miller P SFG Trade 2023 3 +0.7 +0.2 –
Keaton Winn P SFG Draft 2023 4 +0.7 +0.2 –
Juan Nicasio P LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.7 +0.7 3.8
Jorge Soler DH/OF SFG Trade 2024 1 +0.7 +0.7 0.5
Josh Fields P LAD Trade 2016 3 +0.6 +0.2 1.5
Tristan Beck P SFG Draft 2023 3 +0.6 +0.2 –
Blake Sabol C/OF SFG Trade 2022 2 +0.6 +0.3 –
Jarlín García P SFG Trade 2020 2 +0.6 +0.3 3.7
Mitch White P LAD Draft 2016 3 +0.5 +0.2 –
Jordan Hicks P SFG Free agency 2024 2 +0.5 +0.2 0.3
Taylor Rogers P SFG Free agency 2022 2 +0.5 +0.2 0.2
David Villar 1B/3B SFG Draft 2022 1 +0.5 +0.5 –
Austin Wynns C SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.5 +0.5 0.6
Kris Bryant 3B/OF SFG Trade 2021 1 +0.5 +0.5 2.1
Luis González OF SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.5 +0.5 0.7
Trevor Cahill P SFG Free agency 2020 1 +0.4 +0.4 4.9
Sean Hjelle P SFG Draft 2022 3 +0.4 +0.1 –
Luke Jackson P SFG Free agency 2023 1 +0.4 +0.4 0.2
Shelby Miller P SFG Free agency 2022 1 +0.4 +0.4 0.5
Jimmy Rollins SS LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.4 +0.4 2.2
Alex Young P SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.4 +0.4 0.5
Andre Jackson P LAD Draft 2017 2 +0.3 +0.1 –
Christian Koss 2B SFG Trade 2024 1 +0.3 +0.3 –
Aaron Sanchez P SFG Free agency 2021 1 +0.3 +0.3 1.3
Mat Latos P LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.3 +0.3 1.3
Ian Thomas P LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.3 +0.3 1.6
Nick Ahmed SS SFG Trade 2024 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.2
Daniel Robertson 2B/3B/SS SFG Trade 2020 1 +0.3 +0.3 3.1
Kyle Garlick OF LAD Draft 2015 1 +0.2 +0.2 –
Spencer Bivens P SFG Draft 2024 2 +0.2 +0.1 –
Jandel Gustave P SFG Free agency 2019 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.0
Kai-Wei Teng P SFG Draft 2024 1 +0.2 +0.2 –
Ryan Madson P LAD Trade 2018 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.7
Logan Forsythe 2B LAD Trade 2017 1 +0.2 +0.2 1.5
Mark Canha OF SFG Trade 2024 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.1
Jharel Cotton P SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.2
Charlie Culberson 3B/OF LAD Free agency 2015 1 +0.1 +0.1 1.0
Grant Dayton P LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Tim Locastro OF LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Edward Paredes P LAD Rule 5 2016 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Trayce Thompson OF LAD Trade 2015 3 +0.1 +0.0 4.2
Ronald Torreyes 2B/3B/SS LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Edwin Uceta P LAD Intl FA 2016 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Pat Venditte P LAD Free agency 2017 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.2
Cristhian Adames SS SFG Free agency 2019 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Hayden Birdsong P SFG Draft 2024 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Tyler Heineman C SFG Free agency 2020 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.7
Mauricio Llovera P SFG Free agency 2021 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.1
Luis Ortiz P SFG Free agency 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.1
Chadwick Tromp C SFG Trade 2020 2 +0.1 +0.1 –
Jason Vosler 1B/3B SFG Trade 2021 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Brett Wisely 2B SFG Trade 2022 2 +0.1 +0.1 –
Tony Watson P LAD Trade 2017 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.3
Mike Bolsinger P LAD Trade 2015 1 +0.1 +0.1 2.1
J. T. Chargois P LAD Trade 2018 2 +0.1 +0.1 0.2
Burch Smith P SFG Trade 2019 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Wandy Peralta P SFG Trade 2019 3 +0.1 +0.0 0.0
Andrew Vasquez P SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.1
Austin Dean OF SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.1
Thomas Szapucki P SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.1
Spencer Howard P SFG Trade 2024 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.1
Fabio Castillo P LAD Trade 2017 1 +0.0 +0.0 –
Daniel Corcino P LAD Free agency 2015 – -0.0 – –
Kevin Quackenbush P LAD Free agency 2018 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Nick Tepesch P LAD Free agency 2016 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.2
Matt West P LAD Free agency 2015 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.1
Nick Avila P SFG Draft 2024 1 +0.0 +0.0 –
Luis Alexander Basabe OF SFG Trade 2020 – -0.0 – –
Matt Beaty 1B/OF SFG Trade 2023 – +0.0 – –
Rob Brantly C SFG Free agency 2020 – -0.0 – –
Lewis Brinson OF SFG Trade 2022 – -0.0 – –
Raymond Burgos P SFG Draft 2024 – -0.0 – –
Enderson Franco P SFG Trade 2019 – -0.0 – –
Rico Garcia P SFG Free agency 2020 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Jay Jackson P SFG Free agency 2021 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.2
Dany Jiménez P SFG Rule 5 2019 – -0.0 – –
Jason Krizan OF SFG Draft 2022 – -0.0 – –
Zack Littell P SFG Free agency 2021 1 +0.0 +0.0 1.4
Dixon Machado 2B/SS SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.1
Logan Porter C SFG Trade 2024 – -0.0 – –
Jakson Reetz C SFG Free agency 2023 – -0.0 – –
Sam Selman P SFG Trade 2019 1 -0.0 -0.0 –
Ka'ai Tom OF SFG Free agency 2021 – -0.0 – –
Austin Warren P SFG Free agency 2024 – -0.0 – –
Carlos Ruiz C LAD Trade 2016 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.2
John Axford P LAD Trade 2018 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Chris Hatcher P LAD Trade 2015 2 -0.0 -0.0 1.6
Erik Goeddel P LAD Trade 2018 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.1
Matt Wisler P SFG Trade 2021 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Nick Tropeano P SFG Trade 2021 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.1
Mike Baumann P SFG Trade 2024 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Luke Williams 3B/OF SFG Trade 2022 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Brandon Beachy P LAD Free agency 2015 – -0.1 – –
Justin Bruihl P LAD Intl FA 2017 2 -0.1 -0.0 –
Louis Coleman P LAD Free agency 2016 – -0.1 – –
Franklin Gutiérrez OF LAD Free agency 2017 – -0.1 – –
Micah Johnson 2B LAD Trade 2015 – -0.1 – –
Zach McKinstry 3B/OF LAD Draft 2016 2 -0.1 -0.0 –
Zach Neal P LAD Trade 2018 – -0.1 – –
José Peraza 2B/SS LAD Trade 2015 – -0.1 – –
Josh Sborz P LAD Draft 2015 – -0.1 – –
Fernando Abad P SFG Free agency 2019 – -0.1 – –
Sergio Alcántara 2B/3B/SS SFG Free agency 2024 – -0.1 – –
Curt Casali C SFG Free agency 2021 2 -0.1 -0.0 1.5
Zach Green 3B SFG Trade 2019 – -0.1 – –
Andrew Knapp C SFG Free agency 2022 1 -0.1 -0.1 0.1
Tommy La Stella 2B/3B SFG Free agency 2021 1 -0.1 -0.1 2.8
Yunior Marte P SFG Draft 2022 – -0.1 – –
Roberto Pérez C SFG Free agency 2023 – -0.1 – –
Ford Proctor 2B SFG Trade 2022 – -0.1 – –
Michael Reed OF SFG Free agency 2019 – -0.1 – –
Joey Rickard OF SFG Free agency 2020 1 -0.1 -0.1 0.0
Cole Waites P SFG Draft 2022 1 -0.1 -0.1 –
Scott Alexander P LAD Trade 2018 1 -0.1 -0.1 1.0
Wilmer Font P LAD Free agency 2016 – -0.2 – –
David Huff P LAD Free agency 2015 – -0.2 – –
Zach Reks OF LAD Draft 2017 – -0.2 – –
Trenton Brooks 1B/DH SFG Trade 2023 – -0.2 – –
Connor Joe 1B/OF SFG Trade 2019 – -0.2 – –
Bryce Johnson OF SFG Draft 2022 – -0.2 – –
Scott Kazmir P SFG Free agency 2021 – -0.2 – –
Wade Meckler OF SFG Draft 2023 – -0.2 – –
Ross Stripling P SFG Free agency 2022 – -0.2 – –
Trevor Gott P SFG Trade 2019 1 -0.2 -0.2 0.1
Scott Baker P LAD Free agency 2015 – -0.3 – –
Rocky Gale C LAD Free agency 2018 – -0.3 – –
Darién Núñez P LAD Intl FA 2018 – -0.3 – –
Rob Segedin 1B/3B/OF LAD Trade 2016 – -0.3 – –
Eric Surkamp P LAD Trade 2015 – -0.3 – –
Will Venable OF LAD Free agency 2016 – -0.3 – –
Mason Black P SFG Draft 2024 – -0.3 – –
Joe McCarthy OF SFG Trade 2019 – -0.3 – –
Yangervis Solarte 2B/3B SFG Free agency 2019 – -0.3 – –
Donovan Walton 2B/SS SFG Free agency 2022 – -0.3 – –
Josh Ravin P LAD Trade 2015 1 -0.4 -0.4 –
Jerar Encarnacion OF SFG Free agency 2024 1 -0.5 -0.5 0.1
Tom Murphy C SFG Free agency 2023 – -0.5 – –
Marco Luciano SS SFG Draft 2023 1 -0.6 -0.6 –
Grant McCray OF SFG Draft 2024 1 -0.6 -0.6 –
Jaylin Davis OF SFG Trade 2019 – -0.7 – –
Mitch Haniger OF SFG Free agency 2022 – -0.7 – –
Hunter Pence OF SFG Free agency 2020 6 -0.7 -0.1 0.7
Carson Seymour P SFG Trade 2022 – -0.7 – –
Luis Matos OF SFG Draft 2023 – -1.4 – –

WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.

Graphs

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Rosternomics — quantifying front-office skill, attribution-clean. Follow @rosternomics on X. Decision-makers on record back to 1933; resource-controlled metrics (WAR & payroll) cover 1985–2026.
Data: FanGraphs (WAR), Baseball-Reference & the Chadwick Bureau register (rosters, IDs), the Lahman Database, Baseball America prospect rankings (via The Baseball Cube), and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0); bios are original. Emoji graphics by OpenMoji (CC BY-SA 4.0).
All figures are franchise-level outcomes credited to the decision-maker in the acquisition year — not solely attributable to one executive.