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Key Astros Front Office Member Gets Hired Away by Cardinals

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI | By Brad Wakai | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 3:55 PM ET

If it wasn't already clear that a new era of Houston Astros baseball was upon everyone, what has transpired this offseason should be a clear signal that the new era is here.

A major organizational overhaul has occurred for the Astros, as they not only moved on from their two co-hitting coaches, pitching coach and catching coach, but they also made changes to their front office and training staff.

An internal promotion was also made. They moved Connor Huff to assistant general manager in place of departed executive Andrew Ball. But general manager Dana Brown will now have to find another backfill for an open role.

Cardinals Hire Jacob Buffa to Be Their International Scouting Director

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According to The Athletic (subscription required), new St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has made two new hires to his front office, and one of them was plucking Jacob Buffa away from the Astros to become the Cardinals' international scouting director.

That is a major loss for Houston. Not only was Buffa with the organization for seven seasons, but he played a key part in advancing the franchise into the modern era of athletics, with his bio on the team page stating Buffa was responsible for building the organization's first performance science department.

After founding a baseball academy, he joined the Astros in 2019 as a performance coach. He then was promoted up to sports science analyst in September of that year before getting promoted again to director of performance science in 2021.

Buffa's role with Houston before he was hired away by St. Louis was the senior director of player development and performance science, which had him overseeing biomechanics, sports sciences and player development across the entire organization.

How Will Astros Replace Jacob Buffa?

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"It's unclear how the Astros will replace Buffa," stated The Athletic. "Though both general manager Dana Brown and assistant general manager Gavin Dickey have extensive experience in player evaluation and development."

That makes it seem like the Astros are willing to keep that position open for the time being, with the search to fill the other open roles being more important. Since both Brown and Gavin Dickey have experience in that aspect, they could add more to their plates until a clear candidate presents itself.

But back to what was mentioned above; it's clear things are changing for Houston as they get further and further away from their dynastic run that set an American League record with seven consecutive ALCS appearances.

The departure of a key front office figure in Buffa is the latest example.