Evans spent nine seasons as an Assistant GM with the Giants before becoming GM in '15GETTY IMAGES
The MLB Giants fired GM Bobby Evans with a "week left in a second consecutive losing season," according to Henry Schulman of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Giants Exec VP/Baseball Operations Brian Sabean "will keep his job and help" team President & CEO Larry Baer "find Evans’ replacement from outside the organization." Baer said the new hire will have the "authority to run baseball operations," while Sabean “will remain a valuable resource.” Baer also confirmed that manager Bruce Bochy "will return" in '19, the "final year of his contract." Baer said that he and other owners "believed it was time to seek a 'next-gen general manager' who can bring fresh ideas." The new hire "will report directly to Baer, just as Evans did as GM" from '15-17. Evans is the "only official who will lose his job in the wake of the team’s decline," but Baer "would not say Evans was solely to blame" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/25). NBC SPORTS BAY AREA's Alex Pavlovic noted there have been "rumors for weeks" about Evans' future with the team, but his firing was still "hard for some to swallow." His "fingerprints are all over the roster" (NBCSPORTSBAYAREA.com, 9/24). In S.F., John Shea notes Evans’ departure comes a "week and a half after strength and conditioning coach Carl Kochan was fired" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/25).
PLAYING CATCH-UP? Baer said, “The game has changed and evolved a lot. We’ve had a lot of consistency here, which I think has served us really well, and a lot of stability, but nothing goes forever. We have to have somebody that’s going to present the blueprint for the next five to 10 years of Giants baseball. It’s time to have a fresh look at that." Baer said the Giants have had a "tremendous cycle" dating back to '09, including World Series titles in '10, '12 and '14, but added teams "always have to re-pot." Baer: "Next-gen is finding someone who can put a great blueprint on this franchise." NBC SPORTS BAY AREA's Pavlovic noted "next-gen" for the Giants "will mean finding someone who can catch up to the current generation of baseball executives." Baer said that an "increased emphasis on analytics and international signings is part of what he means by next-gen," but added that there "still will be a blend." Baer: “If you look at the really successful franchises, I wouldn’t say they’re all analytics and they’re not all scouting-based. You need to have good people in both areas and a leader who will come in and appreciate both and lead the organization into the future” (NBCSPORTSBAYAREA.com, 9/24).
QUESTION OF TIMING: NBC Sports Bay Area's Ray Ratto said of Evans' firing, "I don't know why they did it now and why not a week from now" (“The Happy Hour,” NBC Sports Bay Area, 9/24). Meanwhile, MLB Network’s Carlos Pena said the Giants are "looking to change things up because things haven’t panned out." Pena: "This is not a knock on Bobby Evans." MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger: “This is an organization that’s starting to see the writing on the wall, and that is that the Rockies, the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers aren’t going anywhere and that the Padres are a sleeping giant because of the farm system they have.” The S.F Chronicle's Shea called the Giants' season a "major disappointment," and Evans is the "fall guy for now" (“MLB Tonight,” MLBN, 9/24).
ON THE HORIZON: NBC SPORTS BAY AREA's Ratto wrote Evans is "ever earnest and hard-working," but the Giants have seen a "precipitous fall" since the summer of '16. It seems "unlikely that Baer would go after" either Sabean or Bochy next. Sabean likely will "undertake a dramatic change beneath him, or at least to bring in a new version of Evans whose skills better match a changing sport, and can buttress Sabean’s gifts." The rest of the changes "will range from the physical to the philosophical, and everything will be on the table" (NBCSPORTSBAYAREA.com, 9/24). NBC Sports Bay Area's Pavlovic said Sabean's future is now dependent on the "need to find somebody long-term to run this baseball department" (“The Happy Hour,” NBC Sports Bay Area, 9/24).
