The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired Farhan Zaidi as a special advisor, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Zaidi will also assist Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter in Walter’s other sports interests, which include the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and the Premier League club Chelsea.

Dodgers Bring Back Farhan Zaidi as Special Advisor

The Band Gets Back Together

If Zaidi’s name sounds familiar, it is because he served as the Dodgers’ General Manager with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman from 2014 to 2018. Before his original stint with the Dodgers, the new advisor spent time in the Oakland Athletics organization.

A Temporary Role?

Zaidi’s duties as a special advisor have not been defined publicly. It is assumed that he will have less responsibility than he had when he was GM. Thus, he will have the flexibility to float between various roles and responsibilities. This move has been reportedly in the works since the middle of December. Typically, jobs like this are transitory.  The new addition takes a role while seeking a permanent position elsewhere. However, given Zaidi’s familiarity with the Los Angeles organization, time will tell.

Broken Hearts in San Francisco

The San Francisco Giants hired Zaidi away from the Dodgers in the fall of 2018 when he became the President of Baseball Operations. The Giants broke even during the first two years of his tenure by the Bay. However, San Francisco was able to snatch the West Division title away from the Dodgers in 2021 winning an impressive 107 games. The next three seasons, the Giants struggled to stay above .500. In addition, San Francisco was unable to land a marquee free agent like an Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani, who have proven to be capable MVP talents. Unfortunately, Blake Snell opted to go elsewhere as well. As a result, there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth among Giants fans. San Francisco replaced Zaidi with Buster Posey.

For the Dodgers, it remains to be seen whether the moves in the front office translate to wins on the field. We don’t have long to wait now.