The San Francisco Giants have fired manager Gabe Kapler after missing the playoffs for the third time in his four-year tenure, the organisation announced Friday.

The move is a full reversal from the public vote of confidence given last month by chairman Greg Johnson and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, making Kapler appear to be a lock in the dugout in 2024.

At the time, the Giants were in position for a wild card spot in the NL playoffs but have since been eliminated from post-season consideration and are in danger of finishing below .500 unless they sweep their final series of the season. 

Zaidi appeared on local radio station KNBR Thursday, and his comments signalled a change of heart.

“I just think we have to look at everything," Zaidi said during the interview. “There's a time and place for everything. One hundred sixty-two games is a grind. We want our players to be comfortable being able to wash off those tough losses.

“But when you’re in do-or-die games, like we were in Arizona, you want them to feel different. I think we’re really going to have to ask ourselves if we were prepared to sort of elevate our level of focus in play for those games that really matter down the stretch.”

Entering play Friday, the Giants have lost 10 of their last 13 games, including a pair against division rival and fellow wild-card hopeful Arizona on Sept. 19-20. The combined score of those games was 15-5.

The Giants are 29-40 since the All-Star break.

Kapler, 48, was 456-411 as manager in San Francisco and helped the team win a franchise-record 107 games in 2021. The Giants’ reward for a historic season was facing the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional round, and Kapler’s squad was eliminated in a Game 5 nail-biter.

“Gabe led our team through an unprecedented pandemic in 2020 and a franchise-record 107 wins and post-season berth in 2021,” Zaidi said in a statement Friday. “He has been dedicated and passionate in his efforts to improve the on-field performance of the San Francisco Giants and I have tremendous respect for him as a colleague and friend.”

Before arriving in San Francisco, Kapler managed the Philadelphia Phillies for two seasons with a 161-163 combined record and no play-off appearances.