The St. Louis Cardinals finalized two external front-office hires, multiple league sources told The Athletic on Friday.
The Cardinals hired Joe Douglas to oversee the professional scouting department and Jacob Buffa as international scouting director, the first two significant hires under new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.
Douglas spent eight seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and most recently served as the head of player analysis. While Douglas will help facilitate the Cardinals’ player acquisition process overall, his main responsibilities will involve working with the pro scouting staff under assistant general manager and scouting director Randy Flores. The Cardinals retained all seven of their pro scouts, signing each to a one-year deal near the end of the season.
Buffa, a Missouri State University graduate who co-founded a baseball performance facility in St. Louis, spent seven seasons in the Houston Astros organization. According to the Astros’ media guide, Buffa was responsible for building the organization’s first performance science department and, in his recent role, oversaw biomechanics, sports sciences and player development.
Losing Buffa is the latest blow to an Astros organization undergoing an overhaul. Buffa is the sixth significant departure this winter, joining assistant general manager Andrew Ball, catching coach Michael Collins, pitching coach Bill Murphy and head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall, along with hitting coaches Alex Cintrón and Troy Snitker.
Cintrón, Snitker, Randall and Collins did not have their contracts renewed after an injury-plagued, 87-75 season that snapped Houston’s streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances. Murphy left for a promotion in Pittsburgh, where he’ll be the lead pitching coach for the Pirates. Snitker has already been hired as the New York Mets’ hitting coach.
The Astros will promote Connor Huff to assistant general manager in place of Ball, a league source confirmed on Thursday. It’s unclear how the Astros will replace Buffa, though both general manager Dana Brown and assistant general manager Gavin Dickey have extensive experience in player evaluation and development.
One month into his first offseason as the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, Bloom has emphasized bolstering the team’s scouting departments, aiming to give both Flores and assistant general manager Moisés Rodriguez more support.
The front-office changes indicate significant operational shifts under Bloom, who has said he’d prefer to add positions, rather than subtract, as the Cardinals roll out a moderate rebuild. Additional support roles under Douglas and Buffa are expected later this offseason. St. Louis will also add a director of hitting, new assistant hitting and pitching coaches and a new head trainer.
Leave a Reply