Bochy ready to embrace new ideas

Zaidi could install ‘opener’ pitching style A’s employed

LAS VEGAS >> With no major additions yet this offseason, it’s too early to predict whether the Giants will improve or regress after a challenging 2018 season.

But this much is clear: The Giants will look different.

The personnel may not change drastically, but philosophies certainly will. Under new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, the old way of operating is far from sacred.

And Bruce Bochy, the longest-tenured manager in baseball, is ready to adapt.

“It’s nice to have new ideas and new thoughts and hopefully we can bounce things around to where we can get creative to help win a ballgame,” Bochy said Wednesday.

Zaidi dropped a revealing nugget of information in a chat with reporters Tuesday at Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings when he explained that the Giants would consider alternative pitching strategies to maximize their available talent pool next season.

A year after many clubs including the Oakland A’s adopted an “opener” strategy, or the practice of using a relief pitcher to record a limited number of outs at the start of a game, Zaidi suggested the Giants will examine its benefits.

“We’re going to have to explore different forms of pitching staff construction and whether that’s us- Zaidi