San Francisco Giants: Billy Owens listed as “clear favorite” for GM job
By Justin Fried
The San Francisco Giants will be looking to name a new general manager this offseason and Oakland Athletics assistant general manager Billy Owens has been named a “clear favorite” for the position.
The San Francisco Giants will be in search of a new manager this offseason following the retirement of the legendary Bruce Bochy. But manager isn’t the only major position that the team will need to fill.
After passing on hiring a general manager last offseason, the Giants have insisted that they will be interviewing candidates this fall to become the new general manager of the organization.
However, the position has a different feel to it than it has in recent years.
For years, the general manager was the top executive in the organization and that individual was the primary overseer of baseball operations. That man for 18 years was Brian Sabean who was the guy in San Francisco during the team’s three World Series titles in the 2010s.
But last fall, CEO Larry Baer made the decision to hire former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi to be the team’s new president of baseball operations.
Many were left confused by this title and even more confusion arose when the team didn’t hire a general manager for the 2019 season. But it’s pretty clear now that Zaidi is essentially the GM of the team — just with a different title.
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This is why the announcement that the team would hire an actual general manager this season was met with additional confusion. At the moment, the favorite for the position appears to be current Oakland Athletics assistant general manager Billy Owens.
Both NBC Sports and Mercury News have listed Owens as the top candidate for the job and have labeled him the “clear favorite.” This makes sense given Owens’ history with Zaidi dating back to their time in Oakland together.
What’s even more encouraging is the near-leaguewide praise that executives have had for Owens. The San Jose native has been lauded for his player development skills and played a crucial role in piecing together the current A’s roster.
The only challenge seems to be luring him away from a franchise that seems to be on the brink of getting over the figurative hump to make a World Series push.
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But now that the Giants are expected to hire a general manager once again, what exactly could his role entail?
Zaidi will still remain the top guy with the Giants, but this new general manager will essentially fulfill a role as Zaidi’s top assistant of sorts. The Giants have insisted that they aren’t looking for someone to shoulder the brunt of the responsibility.
Instead, expect this individual to have some sort of specialty background, perhaps in the field of scouting. In Owens’ case, it does seem to be more in the realm of personnel and player development.
Zaidi had the following to say about the hiring process.
"“I think by not defining it specifically, it opens up the candidate pool. Whether that’s somebody that has experience and expertise in scouting or player development, administration, whatever their strengths are, hopefully, we can complement each other and work well.”"
Consider this position similar to an assistant general manager role in a typical power structure with Zaidi serving as the team’s de-facto general manager.
Either way, expect Owens or whoever the Giants decide to hire to have a pretty substantial say in the organization’s decisions.
While the attention may be on Bochy’s replacement, San Francisco’s new general manager will likely have as big, if not more of an impact on the future of the team.
Next. San Francisco Giants: Top 7 candidates to replace Bruce Bochy. dark
And San Francisco Giants fans should keep a very close eye on Billy Owens over the coming weeks.