An intriguing aspect of the San Francisco Giants’ offseason has been their reliance on internal promotions rather than external hires. Amid a wave of departures—including President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, General Manager Pete Putila, Director of Baseball Analytics Michael Schwartze, hitting coach Justin Viele, and coach Alyssa Nakken—the Giants have primarily filled these gaps with in-house talent. Notable moves include board member Buster Posey stepping in for Zaidi, Zack Minasian’s promotion to General Manager, and broadcaster Randy Winn becoming Vice President of Player Development.
However, on Tuesday, the Giants made a rare external hire. As reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, they brought in Hadi Raad as their new Director of Pro Scouting. Previously a Professional Evaluation Team Leader for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Raad replaces Minasian, who previously held the role of Vice President of Pro Scouting before his promotion.
Pro scouts, like Raad, focus on evaluating professional players—both in the Majors and Minors—to identify trade or free-agent targets. This contrasts with area scouts, who evaluate amateur talent for the draft. Raad’s experience includes a long tenure in the Majors, most notably with the New York Yankees, before joining the Pirates two years ago.
While it’s hard to directly attribute specific moves to Raad, he is widely regarded as a skilled evaluator and communicator. Adding someone with his expertise is a positive step, especially under leadership that values diverse perspectives—a trait Buster Posey appears to embody. Welcome to the Giants, Hadi Raad!
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