The Giants announced Monday night that they have hired Pete Putila as their new general manager. Putila, formerly assistant GM of the Astros, steps up to #2 in the front office hierarchy under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Former GM Scott Harris departed a few weeks ago to take on baseball activities with the Tigers.
Zaidi Notice to reporters last week, the team had hoped to have a replacement GM in early November. San Francisco hit a lot earlier, leaving the highly rated Putila away from Houston.
“Being in our position and facing a big season, I think it would be a great thing for us to have some new perspectives within the organization,” Zaidi said at the time. “A new general manager can certainly bring a fresh perspective on our squad development and evaluation philosophies.”
A West Virginia graduate, Putila spent more than a decade in the Houston main office. Initially hired as an intern in 2011, he quickly moved into the main office under former GM Jeff Lunhow. He spent a decent amount of time building a farm in Houston during the Astros rebuild, being promoted to director of player development in 2016. By the end of the 2019 campaign, Putila had earned got a position as assistant GM.
The following season, the Astros parted with Lunhow after the public revealed the extent of the 2017 sign-stealing operation, however, new GM James Click kept Putila in a senior position in the office, reflecting value that a pair of baseball action leaders put on his input.
Putila was a candidate for the 2019 Giants GM search. San Francisco ended up poaching Harris from the Cubs front office around that time, but Putila clearly made a good impression on Zaidi and his senior staff at the time. He also attracted some consideration in the search for Pirates GM that winter, but Pittsburgh ultimately chose Ben Cherington to lead the baseball reps.
It’s been an important season for the Giants, who have been disappointing with this year’s 81-81 season. Last winter, San Francisco was primarily focused on retaining the core of a team that has won 107 and the NL West title in 2021, in addition to replacing Kevin Gausman with Carlos Rodon in free agent. There are numbers showing slightly higher sales this winter, with Zaidi’s record for wanting a younger, sportier pool of players. Putila will step into the biggest role of his career, helping Zaidi oversee that potentially harsh winter.
