Giants fire Gabe Kapler after 4 seasons, 1 playoff trip - ESPN

The San Francisco Giants fired manager Gabe Kapler on Friday after a late-season collapse that dropped the team out of playoff contention and prompted questions about the franchise's direction going forward.

The firing comes with three games remaining in the season and the Giants sporting a 78-81 record. In a statement, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he made the «recommendation to ownership» to fire Kapler and did so after «receiving their approval.»

Kapler, 48, took over as Giants manager in 2020 and by 2021 shepherded the team to a 107-55 season — the only time in the last 11 years a team finished ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. The Dodgers beat the Giants in the division series that year, and San Francisco struggled to replicate its success last year en route to an 81-81 season.

While owner Greg Johnson committed to keeping Zaidi and Kapler on through at least the end of their contracts in 2024, he backtracked on Kapler, opening up another managerial spot in a winter that's expected to be loaded with vacancies.

Cleveland's Terry Francona will retire after this weekend, and the statuses of Milwaukee's Craig Counsell, Houston's Dusty Baker and the Los Angeles Angels' Phil Nevin — whose contracts are expiring — as well as the New York Mets' Buck Showalter and San Diego's Bob Melvin remain in question.

In the days after the All-Star break, the Giants looked well on their way to a rebound. They were a season-high 13 games over .500 and just 1½ games back of the Dodgers. Since July 18, San Francisco's 24-40 record is the second worst in the NL, and the Giants have fallen behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Padres in the standings.

A late-season swoon put an end to