Astros announce 8 promotions in baseball ops dept

The Houston Astros have promoted several members of their baseball operations department, Astros General Manager Dana Brown announced Thursday.

Those receiving promotions were Gavin Dickey (Assistant General Manager), Will Sharp (Special Assistant to the General Manager), Jacob Buffa (Senior Director, Player Development & Performance Science), J.J. Ruby (Senior Director, Research & Development), Anthony Cacchione (Director, Baseball Operations), Cam Pendino (Director, Player Evaluation), Aaron DelGiudice (Assistant Director, Player Personnel) and Rafael Soto (Manager, Minor League Operations).

Dickey will report to Brown as one of three Assistant General Managers, along with Andrew Ball and Charles Cook.

Dickey spent the 2023 season as a Special Assistant to the General Manager. Originally hired by the Astros as an area scout in 2011, Dickey has been with the organization in a variety of roles, also serving as a regional crosschecker, national crosschecker and special assignment scout. The 2024 season will be his 13th with the Astros organization. Prior to joining the Astros, Dickey played six seasons of minor league baseball (outfielder).

Sharp has worked the last two seasons as a Special Advisor to Baseball Operations. He joined the Astros organization in December of 2012 as a professional scout, and has also held the roles of Analyst, Pro Scouting and Manager, Major League Strategy. The 2024 season will be his 12th with the Astros organization.

Buffa previously served as the Astros Director of Performance Science and will add Player Development to his responsibilities. Ruby joined the Astros full-time in October of 2022, previously serving as Lead Innovator.