© Cody Glenn | 2019 Apr 13
Johnny Cueto’s return wasn’t the only significant Giants news on Tuesday.
VP of baseball ops. Farhan Zaidi announced that the organization has let go eight members of its scouting department, some of which will be replaced, some of which will not. Zaidi is moving the organization in a more video-focused direction.
“It’s a good group of people that have made contributions to this organization over, in some cases, long periods of time and been part of some big moments in Giants history on the field,” Zaidi told reporters, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s obviously sad in that respect, but obviously we’re really appreciative of their contributions over that time and we wish those guys the best.”
Tuesday’s announcement is just another instance in a troubling trend according to Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow. Kruk expanded on his concerns with Murph & Mac Wednesday morning.
“Yeah, it’s really upsetting for me,” Kruk said. “And we’ve seen it the last four or five years; organizations across the board. I mean, if you’re a scout and you’re 50 years old-plus, you’re losing your job. And it’s a big concern of mine, because there’s so much baseball knowledge that’s walking out the door.
“Farhan Zaidi said the Giants are going to use scouts, and use them more at the lower levels where they don’t have quite as much video. So there’s always going to be a place in this game for scouts, but it’s upsetting because these are really good guys, really good baseball guys. And what’s more upsetting than spending 31 years in a business and all of a sudden, that business, you know, passes you by at age 50? It’s a huge concern. These guys have had their worlds completely, you know, upended, and it’s very upsetting. But it’s a trend in baseball.
“We’ve had 22 pro scouts, and we’ve had six data crunchers. And it’s basically gonna flip. If you look at what the Dodgers have done in the organization it’s the exact opposite. They’ve had six pro scouts and they’ve had 20 numbers crunchers and I think we’re going to be doing a lot of that. It’s a sign of the times and it’s happening.”