Goudreau promoted as Jacksonville successor
VyStar Ballpark: See what’s new at home of Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Owner of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Ken Babby, talked about the $31.5 million in renovations done at VyStar Ballpark and Bragan Field MondaycMarch 24, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. Opening day is April 1st against the Worcester Red Sox.
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp executive Harold Craw is leaving to join the MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays.Matt Goudreau has been promoted to president and general manager of the Jumbo Shrimp.Craw served as the team’s general manager since 2015, overseeing major milestones like the rebrand to Jumbo Shrimp.
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp executive vice president and general manager Harold Craw is departing the Triple-A organization, the baseball team announced Dec. 1, to become the senior vice president of community engagement and social responsibility for the American League’s Tampa Bay Rays.
The Jumbo Shrimp promoted assistant general manager Matt Goudreau to president and general manager, with vice president of marketing and media Noel Blaha now promoted to senior vice president.
Craw’s move to the Rays comes more than two months after a Jacksonville-based ownership group headed by Patrick Zalupski of Dream Finders Homes acquired the Tampa Bay franchise from Stu Sternberg. Jumbo Shrimp owner Ken Babby is also a member of the Rays’ new ownership group, and now holds the position of chief executive officer of the Rays.
Craw had served as Jacksonville’s general manager since September 2015, when he joined from the Chattanooga Lookouts. He arrived in the wake of Babby’s purchase of the ballclub — then still known as the Jacksonville Suns — from the Bragan family for an estimated cost of more than $20 million.
“I am thrilled for Harold to realize a career dream of working in Major League Baseball after a highly successful tenure at all levels of Minor League Baseball. Harold’s legacy in Jacksonville will long be impactful, and we are grateful for his decade of leadership here,” Babby said in a statement.
Craw, named Southern League executive of the year in 2017, was with the club during numerous milestones over the past decade: the rebrand from Suns to Jumbo Shrimp after the 2016 season, the move from Double-A to Triple-A as part of Major League Baseball’s restructuring of the minors in 2021, a multiple-round renovation to VyStar Ballpark known as Project Next and the club’s first-ever Triple-A championship in 2025.
New general manager Goudreau has been part of the organization since June 2021, joining the Jumbo Shrimp after prior work with the University of Memphis, the San Francisco 49ers, San Jose State University and the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
Blaha, now senior vice president, joined the franchise as Suns assistant general manager in 2015 and was promoted to vice president of marketing and media before the 2022 season with responsibilities ranging from marketing to merchandise to communications.
The Jumbo Shrimp are scheduled to begin their 2026 Triple-A season on March 27.