Baer upon returning to the Giants will no longer be the team's control person with MLBGETTY IMAGES
MLB Giants President & CEO Larry Baer is "expected to return from his three-month suspension" tomorrow, but he will "not have the same level of power within the organization," according to Kerry Crowley of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. Baer, who was suspended without pay by MLB for his role in a public altercation with his wife, will "rejoin the franchise in his prior role," but the Giants will "make changes" to their leadership structure. Baer is "no longer the Giants' 'control person'" with MLB, as that role has been given to Giants BOD member Rob Dean, who "served as the interim CEO while Baer was suspended." Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi "will report to Dean, who has become a more visible face of the franchise over the last three months." It is possible that in his new capacity as the team's control person, Dean will "become the face of the franchise from the perspective of ownership while Baer fades into the background" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 6/30).
TAKE SOME TIME: In S.F., Henry Schulman wrote time "will tell how changes in the front-office structure will shake out and Baer will be received in the community, especially among advocates who fight domestic violence." Dean, who will assume the newly created role of Chair, said the organization will be run in a "more collaborative manner." He added that some of Baer's longtime duties will be "spread among other team executives." While those execs "will still report to Baer, others in the organization will become more visible and Dean will take a more active role in day-to-day operations." Dean said, "The Giants will have many faces with one voice, where historically it really was Larry as the one face and one voice." On the surface, the changes "look like Baer's authority is being diluted." But Dean said, "Larry has always been accountable to the board, and that doesn't change. The structure will definitely be more decentralized, but we all see that as a positive rather than a reduction in Larry's power" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/30).
