World Series champ Posey joins Giants ownership group

DENVER -- Even in retirement, Giants icon Buster Posey is poised to remain a face of the franchise, though his influence will now shift from the field to the boardroom.

The Giants announced on Wednesday that Posey has bought into the team’s ownership group, making him one of 31 partners with a stake in the club. The 35-year-old Posey will be the youngest member of the Giants’ ownership group and the first former player in franchise history to join the organization as a principal partner and serve on the six-person board of directors.

“The organization and this fanbase has meant a great deal to me and my family for a long time now,” Posey said during a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday. “I couldn't be more thrilled to be joining the ownership group. I feel like this is going to be an opportunity for me to learn from owners that have been doing it a long time and been at the top of their game in their respective fields. At the same time, I’ll be able to bring my unique perspective of just recently retiring.

“I’m excited for what the future holds and really grateful and looking forward to this opportunity.”

Giants chairman Greg Johnson joked that he would have preferred to be announcing that Posey was coming out of retirement and resuming his decorated career in San Francisco, but he called the three-time World Series champion’s decision to join the ownership group “the second-best thing” for the organization.

“I’m sure all of you know that he’s a unique individual,” Johnson said. “Beyond the stats, beyond his great play on the field, he’s really a quality, thoughtful person. … I think the Giants will be a stronger organization going forward, and I believe baseball will be a stronger organization. Not only do we get the benefit of a youthful perspective that he brings to the organization, but also just the perspective of somebody who’s played the field and worn the orange and black and been such a big part of Giants history.”

A seven-time All-Star, Posey hit .302 with an .831 OPS and 158 home runs over 12 seasons with the Giants before announcing his retirement at the end of last season. Posey said he approached Johnson and Giants CEO Larry Baer about coming on board as a part-owner shortly after he decided to hang up his spikes.

Posey, who earned over $170 million in his playing career, bought into the team with his own money, though he declined to reveal the percentage of his stake in the franchise, which was recently valued at $3.5 billion by Forbes.

Johnson said the Giants created a new board seat for Posey, who will now sit in on meetings and be part of discussions ranging from budgeting to player payroll to potential acquisitions. Still, Posey made it clear that he plans to leave the decision-making to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and the rest of the Giants’ front office.

“I think where my value can be is I can be a sounding board to Greg,” Posey said. “I can be a sounding board to Larry and to Farhan. I think it’s important. By no means am I trying to take on the role of front office and be in the trenches. It’s more like a sounding board, a thought partner with Greg. I’m excited to work alongside all the owners and try to put the best product on the field possible.”

With a résumé that could quite possibly land him in the Hall of Fame, Posey could be a powerful recruiting tool for the Giants, who are expected to be active this offseason following their disappointing 2022 campaign. A rejuvenated Posey led the 2021 Giants to a franchise-record 107 wins in his final season, but the club is on track to finish under .500 and miss the playoffs this year.

“My recruiting record is not very good,” Posey said. “There’s time to improve on that. I think my role will be to be helpful where I can be helpful. And if that involves taking some time to get to know a prospective free agent, then I’d happily do that.”

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, a Linden, Calif., native and Fresno State product who crushed his 60th home run of the season on Tuesday, and shortstops Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson will be among the most prominent players who are expected to be available in free agency this winter. Johnson said the Giants are still working on a budget for 2023, but he suggested the team will be open to spending to try to put the team in a better position to return to the playoffs next year.

“We don’t have a fixed number going yet,” Johnson said. “It’s what we think we need to do to put a competitive team on the field. As you know, we have a lot of flexibility coming into this offseason. We’re well aware of the shortstops and the person who can hit in the Bronx who is out there. Farhan ultimately will come with his suggested number. We haven’t done that yet, but we’re certainly looking at that right now and are well aware that we’ve got some gaps that need to be addressed.”