SAN FRANCISCO — Zack Minasian and was promoted to general manager of the San Francisco Giants on Friday, joining the Los Angeles Angels’ Perry Minasian to make the brothers both big league GMs.

The 41-year-old Zack Minasian had been the Giants’ vice president of professional scouting since 2022, three years after he joined San Francisco following 14 years with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Perry Minasian became the Angels’ GM in November 2020.

Elevating Zack was Buster Posey’s first big move since replacing Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations.

During his stint in Milwaukee, Minasian was special adviser for baseball operations, director of professional scouting, manager of minor league scouting, personnel/coordinator of pro scouting and baseball operations assistant.

“There is so much to appreciate about this organization – an existing nucleus of talent on both the major league roster and throughout the minor league system, a passionate fan base, an incredible alumni group and the organization’s commitment to the community,” Minasian said in a statement.

Posey, a former All-Star catcher, was hired on on Sept. 30 after the Giants finished 80-82 in manager Bob Melvin’s first season, with one more victory than in 2023. San Francisco hasn’t reached the playoffs since winning the NL West in 2021.

The 37-year-old Posey retired in November 2021 and joined the club’s ownership group in September 2022.

“Zack has brought a wealth of knowledge and a lot of experience to the organization in his six years here,” Posey said in a statement. “He’s also a thorough talent evaluator.”

Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos will be a battle of strengths.

On one side, there’s the Ravens’ high-powered offense led by Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Through Week 8, Baltimore ranks first in total offense (452.1 yards per game) and rushing offense (200 yards per game), second in scoring (30.3 points per game), and fifth in passing offense (252.1 yards per game) . The addition of Henry, the league leader in rushing, has taken this offense to new heights, and both he and Jackson could have hardware in their future.

On the other side, there’s a stifling Broncos defense that has quietly emerged as one of the best in the league. Denver currently ranks third in total (282.6 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (15 points per game), fourth in passing defense (176.3 yards allowed per game) and seventh in rushing defense (106.3 yards allowed per game). The Broncos don’t have any stars on defense outside of cornerback Pat Surtain II, but it’s just an overall very solid unit.

However, Denver hasn’t seen an offense like Baltimore’s yet. Ahead of their toughest test of the season, the Broncos are embracing the opportunity at hand.

“It’s really challenging,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said, per the team’s website. “Obviously, this league’s based on having good players [and] having a good scheme. But they’ve got playmakers everywhere. Their running game obviously starts with Derrick Henry — and when you have Lamar adding 60 yards a game to that, between the scrambles and the call quarterback runs, it makes it difficult to get a stop. That’s why they’re so high as far as the numbers.”

When asked how he intends to stop the Ravens’ high-flying attack, Joseph knows that taking away their greatest strength is paramount to victory.

“You have to take something away,” Joseph said. “My preference is the running game and make them throw it. So, we’ll see how that works out on Sunday. But we have a plan to get both stopped. We’ll see how that comes out.”

From Baltimore’s perspective, this matchup is a great test as well. The Ravens have faced some good defenses this season, such as the Cleveland Browns last week, but a chance to better themselves against a quality opponent is always appreciated.

“[The Broncos defense] is playing at a really high level. [They’re] very confident. Their guys are really active; they play hard,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “That’s one thing you see on film. They’ve done a great job of building the core personalities of the players they’ve got playing on the field – I think that’s impressive [and] how hard they play and schematically how they challenge you with their pressure package.

“We’re up for it; our guys are excited. We’ve seen that for the last four weeks. We’ve seen teams that have decided to pressure us. To me, that’s where the league is going, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing it as much. So, we have to be on point with all of our IDs and where we go with the ball.”

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

The Seattle Mariners have officially made the first “big” move of the offseason.

After a lot of debate over whether or not the team would opt to bring him back due to his injury concerns, the Seattle Mariners declined the $12 million option of second baseman and 2019 All-Star Jorge Polanco on Friday.

Polanco will receive a $750,000 buyout from the Mariners due to the team declining his option. The team’s 40-man roster now stands at 36 players.

Seattle traded for Polanco from the Minnesota Twins on Jan. 29, 2024, in efforts to figure out the team’s perpetual hole at second base. The Mariners have been trying to find an answer at the position since trading Robinson Cano to the New York Mets back in 2018.

Polanco had a down season by all metrics, even though it wasn’t entirely his fault.

The 11-year MLB veteran was dealing with a nagging knee injury for the second half of the season and had a stint on the 10-day injured list earlier in the year with a hamstring injury.

Polanco underwent surgery to repair a damaged patellar tendon after the season ended.

Polanco averaged just .213 this year with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs. His defense also took a noticeable step back.

Polanco had -10 outs above average, which ranks in just the second percentile in the league according to Baseball Savant.

Polanco is a switch-hitter with 20-home run power. He was reported to be ready to return by spring training after his surgery.

Seattle will now look to find an answer at second base while Polanco will try and find a new home.

The Mariners have several avenues they can explore to fill out the gap at second base. And time will tell if one of those avenues includes going after a free agent or pulling off a trade.

MARINERS HAVE TOP-TEN ODDS TO LAND JUAN SOTO, PER SPORTS BETTING SITE: The Seattle Mariners landed on the list to land the biggest superstar in free agency per a popular sports betting site. CLICK HERE

EIGHT-TIME ALL-STAR LINKED TO MARINERS: The St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners have been tied together in trade rumors for months, could both sides finally pull the trigger? CLICK HERE

MARINERS MAKE MOVES TO TOP BRASS: The Seattle Mariners continued to make some moves in their top brass with the promotion of a long-time employee on Thursday. CLICK HERE

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.