One of the most important figures in Giants franchise history is leaving the organization for the New York Yankees.
Brian Sabean, general manager for San Francisco’s three World Series teams, has been appointed to executive advisor to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. Sabean had been serving in a similar advisory role with the Giants.
Sabean was the Giants’ general manager from 1996 to 2014. He oversaw the franchise’s turnaround that featured three titles and franchise pillars like Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford.
2022 marked Sabean’s 30th year with the Giants.
“The San Francisco Giants would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Brian Sabean for his enormous contributions to our organization and wish him the best of luck on his new position with the New York Yankees,” the Giants said in a statement.”Brian has been a pillar of our game and a cornerstone of this franchise for 30 years and we are extremely appreciative of his leadership and the legacy he leaves behind.”
Baseball America named Sabean MLB Executive of the Year both in 2003 and 2012. The foundation of San Francisco’s success in the early 2010s came from building a strong farm system that fed consistent talent to the Major League club. Most of the championship teams’ best players were homegrown.
Sabean transitioned into an advisory role in 2019 in which he worked on “strategic initiatives as a senior advisor and evaluator.” It appears likely that his role as an advisor to Cashman will be more hands-on.
In the past year, the remnants of the Giants’ three title teams have scattered. Bruce Bochy will manage the Texas Rangers. Buster Posey retired, then became a minority owner in the team. Brandon Belt remains an unsigned free agent, while Brandon Crawford looks likely to get a chance at a swan song at shortstop at age 36.
And now Sabean is heading back to the Bronx.
Before the Giants, Sabean began his career as a scout with the Yankees in 1985. The Yankees promoted him to director of scouting the next year, and soon afterwards to vice president of player development and scouting. He’s credited with scouting or signing Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, J.T. Snow, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte.
“We truly believe he’s a Hall of Fame worthy executive in every sense of the word and wish him, his wife Amanda, and his entire family nothing but the best in the future,” the Giants wrote in their statement. “He will always be a Forever Giant.”