Sabean is in his 11th season as San Francisco's GM. Barry Bonds and the Giants haven't made the playoffs since 2003, and start the second half at 38-48 and 10 games behind San Diego in the NL West.

Sabean and the Giants began talks earlier than either side expected. Owner Peter Magowan's stance during spring training was that Sabean's future would be addressed at the end of the season.

"When you look at Brian's body of work over his 11 seasons with the Giants, it's evident that he is a shrewd baseball man who will find a way to get this team back to where we all want it to be," Magowan said in a statement. "While we are certainly disappointed with the way that things have gone this season, I'm fully confident that Brian and Bruce (Bochy) will get us back on the right track."

One of Sabean's biggest decisions in the coming offseason will certainly involve Bonds. The Giants re-signed him to a $15.8 million, one-year deal — but at 42, and four home runs shy of Hank Aaron's career record of 755, the slugger's future is uncertain.

The Giants won their first NL West title in eight years during Sabean's initial season in 1997. San Francisco also won the division in 2000 and '03, getting the wild card in 2002 when the Giants fell six outs short in the World Series to the Angels.

"Obviously, I am thankful and looking forward to having the opportunity to move this team in the right direction," Sabean said. "Clearly, the past 2 seasons have been a disappointment to all of us in the front office and to our fans. Moving forward, our goal is to win at the major league level while also developing a younger roster."

The Giants had hoped to go younger this season, but still have a relatively old roster. After signing Bonds, the Giants brought back many familiar faces to play around him: third baseman Pedro Feliz, second baseman Ray Durham and pinch-hit specialist Mark Sweeney.

While the decision to sign Dave Roberts to three years and $18 million might be questioned because of the outfielder's injury issues, Sabean's move to land catcher Bengie Molina for three years and $16 million made him look very good.

In February, Magowan pledged his support for Sabean despite the fact the Giants have missed the playoffs for three straight years. Magowan didn't point all the blame at the GM and said he fully expected Sabean to stick around.

"We're all on the hot seat. I'm on the hot seat," he said.