> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.crawfordboxreport.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Astros Hire Randy Flores as General Manager - URL: https://www.crawfordboxreport.com/astros-hire-randy-flores-general-manager/ - Published: 2026-10-31T00:30:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-31T00:30:22.000Z - Description: Houston has its new GM. The Astros announced Friday night that Cardinals assistant GM Randy Flores will be the 15th general manager in franchise history, after The Athletic's Chandler Rome and USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported the hire. - Author: Crawford Box Report - Tags: News The Astros' general manager search is over. [Randy Flores has been hired as their general manager](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2116323727705313687?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), The Athletic's Chandler Rome posted Friday at 7:17 p.m. CT, saying the club "just announced" the move. [USA Today's Bob Nightengale followed at 7:18 p.m. CT](https://x.com/BNightengale/status/2116323825923289515?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Minutes later, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart [relayed the club's announcement](https://x.com/brianmctaggart/status/2116324272314462332?ref=crawfordboxreport.com): Flores "has been hired as the Astros new general manager, Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane announced today." "He becomes the 15th general manager in franchise history." Nightengale added that [word had leaked early Friday](https://x.com/BNightengale/status/2116325007811084716?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) that Flores would get the job, "but the Astros declined to confirm until now." Just before the announcement, Rome, with Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, [reported](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2116322415265685923?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) that with Matt Kleine in limbo, Flores "has emerged as a serious candidate," according to multiple sources. [MLB Trade Rumors](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/astros-hire-randy-flores-as-general-manager.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) also noted that Rome, Woo and Rosenthal reported Flores was a serious candidate just before the club made it official. Flores, 51, was the St. Louis Cardinals' assistant general manager of amateur and pro acquisition [for the past eight years](https://x.com/BNightengale/status/2116324605560582517?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), Nightengale wrote. ## A late turn in the search A day earlier, The Athletic reported that Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine was the name at the top of Houston's list, and [MLB.com reported](https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-general-manager-search-update?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) Friday that, according to a source, Kleine had recently signed an extension with Milwaukee, which meant the Astros would have had to buy him out of that new deal. Flores had been part of the field since Oct. 20, when Rome first named him alongside Kleine and White Sox assistant GM Josh Barfield, [per MLB Trade Rumors](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/astros-gm-rumors-josh-barfield-white-sox-randy-flores-cardinals.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). The Athletic later listed him among the candidates who had drawn "serious interest," [per MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-general-manager-candidates?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). The timing matters. Free agency opens Monday, and the GM Meetings are scheduled for the following week in Las Vegas, [per MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-general-manager-search-update?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Houston aimed to have a GM in place before those meetings, [per MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-general-manager-candidates?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), and it now has one with time to spare. The Astros have been without a GM since Dana Brown's departure on Aug. 24\. The club and Brown parted ways in what the team called a mutual decision, [per MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/dana-brown-astros-part-ways?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Assistant GMs Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell took on Brown's responsibilities, with Crane overseeing baseball operations. ## Who is Randy Flores? Flores pitched parts of eight big-league seasons from 2002 to 2010, mostly as a left-handed reliever for the Cardinals, and also pitched for the Rangers, Rockies and Twins. In 250 career innings he posted a 4.61 ERA with 76 holds and four saves, [per MLB Trade Rumors](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/astros-gm-rumors-josh-barfield-white-sox-randy-flores-cardinals.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) (250 IP, 4.61 ERA and four saves also match [Baseball Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/florera01.shtml?ref=crawfordboxreport.com)). He won a ring with the 2006 Cardinals and threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings that October, [per MLBTR](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/astros-gm-rumors-josh-barfield-white-sox-randy-flores-cardinals.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) and [Baseball Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/florera01.shtml?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) (5.2 IP, 0.00 ERA in the 2006 postseason). After his playing career, Flores earned a master's degree in education at USC while serving as an assistant baseball coach there. He then founded OnDeck Digital, a company that made video reports on amateur players and was used by as much as a third of the league in the mid-2010s, [per MLBTR](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/astros-gm-rumors-josh-barfield-white-sox-randy-flores-cardinals.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). The Cardinals hired him to run their amateur scouting department late in 2015. ## What's next Flores' first big job is the manager search. The Astros said they would fill the GM role before turning to a replacement for Joe Espada, whose contract wasn't renewed after three seasons, [per MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-general-manager-candidates?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). That search can now start in earnest, with free agency days away. We'll have more on Flores' background, his draft record in St. Louis and what the hire means for Houston's offseason as details come out. For the full search timeline and candidate list, see our [GM search tracker](https://www.crawfordboxreport.com/astros-gm-search-josh-barfield-and-randy-flores-join-matt-kleine-among-outside-candidates/). ## Around the MLB - **Dustin May is a free agent:** May declined his mutual option with the Brewers, Jon Heyman [reported](https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/2115947278309761334?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). - **Nick Martinez hits free agency:** Martinez declined his $20 million Rays mutual option, picking up $4 million in the process, Heyman [reported](https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/2116124885504123200?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). - **D-backs expected to explore Ketel Marte trades:** Arizona has received preliminary interest, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, with comments also from local radio, [Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors reported](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/diamondbacks-expected-to-field-interest-on-ketel-marte.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Asked whether the club would field offers, GM Mike Hazen said, "I think we need to look at some ways to shake the team up a little bit." Marte hit .249/.316/.432 with 22 home runs in 624 plate appearances in 2026 and is owed $87.5 million over five years ($12 million in 2027, half deferred), with 10-and-5 no-trade protection, per MLBTR. - **Joc Pederson declines Rangers mutual option:** Pederson declined his end of an $18.5 million mutual option with Texas (no buyout) and is a free agent, Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported, [per MLBTR](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/joc-pederson-declines-mutual-option-with-rangers.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). He hit 26 home runs in 2026 and batted .245/.338/.496 in 396 plate appearances against right-handers, per MLBTR. Subscribe free at crawfordboxreport.com.