Farhan Zaidi has bizarre take on dealing with Dodgers-Giants rivalry

It was a big series against a division rival for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who hosted the San Francisco Giants for a three-game set over the weekend.

The Dodgers ended up taking two out of three with a 5-4 victory on Sunday Night Baseball. As of Tuesday morning, Los Angeles has a 2.5-game lead over the rival Giants in the NL West standings.

It's an intense matchup anytime the Dodgers and Giants square off. But with the Giants surging back to relevancy in 2025, the rivalry seems to have a little more edge to it this year. For Dodgers front office executive Farhan Zaidi, it's a matchup that is incredibly personal, but his take on the Dodgers-Giants rivalry this season is really bizarre.

Farhan Zaidi's history with the Dodgers and Giants

Zaidi was the Dodgers GM from 2014-2018. During his tenure, the Dodgers got back to the World Series for the first time in 29 years and appeared in back-to-back World Series in 2017 and 2018. Zaidi then jumped ship to be San Francisco's President of Baseball Operations.

The Giants won a franchise-record 107 games in 2021 and Zaidi was voted the Sporting News Executive of the Year and MLB Executive of the Year. The Giants got bounced from the playoffs by the Dodgers in the NLDS that season.

From 2022-2024, San Francisco went three consecutive seasons without finishing above .500 or making the playoffs, Zaidi was let go by the Giantrs after the 2024 season as a result. He rejoined the Dodgers in February of this year as a special advisor to Mark Walter.

Farhan Zaidi's bizarre Dodgers-Giants take has fans questioning loyalty

It's understandable that watching the Dodgers and Giants square off in 2025 would be a bit awkward for Zaidi. But his take on the matchup this weekend made no sense whatsoever.

"It is strange," Zaidi told the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser in an exclusive interview. "If I had my choice, I would just disappear or go to like a Caribbean island for three days and then come back once it’s over. It’s strange. It’s uncomfortable. Because, as I said, I do want to see the Giants do well. I do work for the Dodgers, so obviously I want the Dodgers to do well. I kind of just want this series to be over, and I want both teams to go on and be playing other teams."

Most of the Giants 2025 roster was put together by Zaidi before he was fired. Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee, Robbie Ray, Landen Roupp, and Mike Yastrzemski were all acquired while Zaidi was there. That's only to name a few.

The Giants fired him and are now reaping the rewards of his work ... and somehow Zaidi is rooting for them to win just as much as he is his current employer? Why?!

Zaidi got his first GM job from the Los Angeles Dodgders. He was not fired, he chose to leave. He is currently employed by the Dodgers. It really shouldn't be difficult to calculate, yet Zaidi finds himself between a rock and a hard place when the choice should be obvious.

Sure, he's got friends over in San Francisco that he used to work with. That's baseball. When you switch teams, you switch your loyalty, too. Do you think Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto or starting pitcher Blake Snell are rooting for the Giants to beat the Dodgers this season just because they played in San Francisco in 2024? I doubt it.

The Giants will be back at Dodger Stadium for a four-game series that will have postseason implications from on September 18-21. By then, Zaidi needs to get his loyalties straightened out.