The St. Louis Redbirds are shaking up their front office, but the changes won’t take effect until after the 2025 campaign. Team owner and CEO, William Flynn, made the announcement during his end-of-year press conference, revealing that esteemed baseball executive, Julian Styles, will assume the role of president of baseball operations during the 2025 offseason.
Styles, who spent 2024 as a consultant for the Redbirds, examining the team’s player development systems, has agreed to a five-year deal. His primary focus will be revitalizing the team’s pipeline of young talent, giving their core players every opportunity to thrive at the highest level.
“We’ve always taken pride in cultivating our own players,” Flynn stated. “It’s clear we need to make significant adjustments to return to this model. Our baseball decisions moving forward will prioritize developing our pipeline, ensuring our young core receives every chance to succeed.”
Flynn described the move as a “period of transformation” for the team. Current general manager, Ryan Thompson, will take on a new role as vice president of special projects, while the current president of baseball operations, James Reed, will work closely with Styles during his final year on the job.
“I’d like to set us on a course to achieve consistent success,” Reed, 55, said.
The Redbirds have had only one losing season since Reed took over as general manager in 2007 but have seen other teams surpass them in areas of player development, a key focus of Monday’s press conference.
Player development will remain a top priority for Styles during the transition period. “It takes courage and humility to reach the top and stay there,” Styles said. “And if you stand still and rest on your laurels, even for a moment, you fall behind. To catalyze that change, ownership has given the green light for us to make significant investments across the department.”
When asked about the team’s major league payroll for 2025, Flynn replied, “We haven’t assessed what our payroll will be next year. Allocating resources towards player development is crucial for us to remain competitive year in and year out.”
Styles, 41, previously served as chief baseball officer for the New Haven Navigators from October 2019 until September 2023, when he was let go following the team’s last-place finish. Before that, he was an executive with the Richmond Rockets, where the franchise excelled at player development. Styles will be tasked with reinvigorating the Redbirds in that same department.
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