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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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A legendary agent from a high-profile agency is reportedly joining the San Francisco Giants front office as one of two new advisors to their president of baseball operations.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Buster Posey's longtime agent Jeff Berry will join Bobby Evans as a front-office advisor.
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Berry was the co-head of baseball at CAA Sports before leaving earlier this year. Evans was the Giants' general manager from 2015-18 before he was reassigned under Farhan Zaidi.
It is rare, though not unheard of, for an agent to take a front-office job. Brodie Van Wagenen left CAA to lead the Mets' front office from 2018-20, then returned to the agency business as the Head of Strategy and Business Development of Roc Nation Sports.
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Dave Stewart had a handful of major league clients when the former pitcher was tapped to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks' front office by his former manager, Tony La Russa, in 2014. He left his post two years later.
When Berry left his post with CAA earlier this year, he told The Athletic that he had seen the industry "radically change," and that "baseball's devotion to efficiency produced deleterious effects."
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Houston Astros closer Josh Hader, another Berry client, was adamant about preserving his health by only pitching one inning at a time in his final season with the San Diego Padres before free agency.
"This efficiency model has taken over a lot of the industry," Berry told ESPN about a widely held belief that relief pitchers are expendable, "and it's bonkers."
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Given his outspoken views about the state of the game, it will be fascinating to see how Berry's views play out in a front-office advisory role.
As for Evans, he inherited a team that had won three World Series championships in five years (2010-14) under the guidance of Brian Sabean. Yet the Giants reached the postseason just once in Evans' tenure, losing a four-game NL Division Series to the eventual champion Chicago Cubs in 2016.
Evans' drafts yielded few impact players for the Giants. Heliot Ramos, the team's first-round pick in 2017, broke through as an All-Star in his first full big league season in 2024. A second-round pick, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, was traded in the deal that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco in Jan. 2018.
Posey made seven All-Star teams in his major league career (2009-21), all with the Giants. He was appointed president of baseball operations, succeeding Zaidi in the post in October.
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