Astros Rumor Roundup: Mariners Add a Hitting Coach Before Choosing Espada or Kanzler, and St. Louis Reacts to Losing Randy Flores

Two markets had Astros news from their own beats since our last roundup. In Seattle, the Mariners hired a hitting coach while their manager decision between two former Astros, Joe Espada and Jason Kanzler, is still pending. In St. Louis, Cardinals writers took stock of losing Randy Flores, the longtime scouting director and assistant GM who is now Houston's general manager. All times are Central.

Seattle: A hitting coach first, then a manager

The Mariners still haven't named a manager, but they have a new hitting coach. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, with Spencer Nusbaum and Chandler Rome, reported Friday at 1:35 p.m. that the "Mariners, still searching for a manager, add CJ Gillman as hitting coach." Per The Athletic's story, Gillman spent last season as the Washington Nationals' director of hitting.

Daniel Kramer of MLB.com confirmed it at 3:58 p.m., writing that Seattle is "indeed bringing on CJ Gillman as a Major League hitting coach." Kramer added that Gillman was the Mariners' minor league hitting coordinator from 2022-25 and "a huge presence for many within their young core."

Hiring a coach before a manager got pushback from some Mariners fans, and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times answered a few of them. "The Mariners still have at least three more coaches to hire so I'm sure the new manager will have some input on that," Divish posted at 3:56 p.m. In replies, he wrote "I'm sure both candidates were aware" and "I'm certain that the two finalists know about Gillman already." He also noted that "Very few managers if any pick their entire staff anymore."

That leaves Espada and Kanzler as the finalists. As of Saturday morning, neither Kramer nor Divish had reported a decision. Kramer reported earlier in the week that the decision could slide into the weekend, with an introductory press conference tentatively planned for early next week.

St. Louis: The Cardinals lose their draft boss

We covered the Flores hire and what it means for Houston Friday night. Here's how it's playing on the Cardinals' side.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran it under the headline "Cardinals scouting director Randy Flores hired as next Houston Astros GM." Daniel Guerrero's story opens: "After over 10 years as a member of the Cardinals front office and as the club's director of scouting, Randy Flores is set to lead the Houston Astros' front office." The Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold shared it Saturday at 8:57 a.m., calling Crane a "St. Louis native" who "goes back to a familiar spot for his next GM." (The rest of the Post-Dispatch story is behind a paywall, and we didn't read it.)

Chandler Rome's story for The Athletic, which he shared at 8:15 p.m. Friday, notes that Flores "had spent the past 11 years with the St. Louis Cardinals." Rome had reported earlier Friday, with Cardinals writer Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal, that Flores had become a serious candidate.

The sharpest Cardinals-side take came from Thomas Gauvain of Redbird Rants, FanSided's Cardinals site, in an opinion piece posted Friday at 10:17 p.m. "The Cardinals are once again losing an executive to the Houston Astros," he wrote, pointing back to Houston hiring Jeff Luhnow, then the Cardinals' vice president of scouting and player development, in 2011. Gauvain also noted that Flores later replaced Chris Correa in St. Louis. Correa, as Gauvain recalled, was sentenced to 46 months in prison in the hacking scandal in which he stole confidential information from Houston's system.

Gauvain doesn't think the front office will feel it much: "The departure of Randy Flores won't hurt the Cardinals much in the front office. With Zach Mortimer already taking over drafting duties, there is plenty of backfill within the organization." He wrote that Mortimer handled the Cardinals' 2026 draft. Gauvain's worry is the coaching staff: "Where this move may hurt St. Louis the most would be on the field."

The manager angle: Descalso and Jay

That worry is about two names. Bob Nightengale of USA Today posted Friday at 7:29 p.m. that with Flores in Houston, "Cardinals coaches Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay are natural candidates for their managerial vacancy." That's Nightengale's opinion, not a report of interest.

Gauvain made the same case, calling Descalso and Jay, who both played for the Cardinals like Flores, "prime candidates to fill Houston's manager vacancy." He wrote that Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom "has been adamant that he expects 'status quo' regarding the coaching staff," and that if the two coaches leave, "valuable experience and instruction for a rising crop of young players will leave as well." That's also opinion. Nobody has reported that the Astros have asked to interview either coach. We're keeping a list of every name that comes up in our Astros manager search tracker.

What's next

Seattle's manager decision could come any day now, and either way a former Astro gets the job. Flores is set to be introduced Monday, and the manager search is his first big task. If Houston asks the Cardinals for permission to talk to Descalso or Jay, it'll probably come out of St. Louis first. We'll be watching.

Around the MLB

Hurdle leaves the Rockies. Clint Hurdle and the Rockies are parting ways, he announced on social media, per Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors, who credited Thomas Harding of MLB.com for the link. Hurdle, who managed Colorado to the 2007 World Series, had mostly been a special assistant in the organization for the past five seasons. "With my last day being October 31, 2026 … just know that I am not retiring … but rather recalculating my journey personally and professionally," he wrote.

Arroyo has elbow surgery. Mariners prospect Michael Arroyo had an elbow scope Wednesday with Dr. Keith Meister to "clean up cartilage and brace a chronic injury to his right ulnar collateral ligament," Daniel Kramer of MLB.com wrote. Per the club, Arroyo won't be ready for game action until April, which Kramer wrote would put him on the injured list to start 2027. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times described the timeline differently, writing that the team "announced that Arroyo will be ready to go by the start of the season."

The Angels are the last team still looking. With Flores in Houston, "Los Angeles is the last team still looking for a new front office leader," Mark Polishuk of MLBTR wrote Saturday morning. Polishuk noted that Flores "had been rumored as a candidate to take over the Angels' front office basically ever since Mozeliak was brought on as interim GM in June," because of their shared St. Louis ties. Interim GM John Mozeliak isn't a candidate for the full-time job, and the Angels also need a manager to replace Kurt Suzuki.

Severino stays in Sacramento. A's right-hander Luis Severino will exercise his $22 million player option, Mike Rodriguez of Rompiendo Sports first reported, per MLBTR's Mark Polishuk and AJ Eustace. Severino had a 4.16 ERA over 12 starts in 2026 before a season-ending shoulder strain. MLBTR noted his 5.85 ERA in 20 home starts as an Athletic, compared with 3.14 on the road.

Soroka declines his option. Michael Soroka declined his end of a $10 million mutual option with the Diamondbacks and takes a $1 million buyout, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reported, per MLBTR's Anthony Franco. Soroka had a 3.41 ERA across 116 innings in 2026.

Yankees part with Minaya and Sabean. "The Yankees aren't renewing the contracts Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean, who served as special assistants to GM Brian Cashman, via sources," Jon Heyman of the New York Post posted at 8:54 a.m.

Sources: Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, on X; Daniel Kramer, MLB.com, on X; Ryan Divish, Seattle Times, on X; St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Daniel Guerrero); Derrick Goold on X; Chandler Rome, The Athletic, on X; Redbird Rants (Thomas Gauvain); Bob Nightengale on X; MLBTR (Anthony Franco), Hurdle; MLB.com (Daniel Kramer), Arroyo; Seattle Times (Ryan Divish), Arroyo; MLBTR (Mark Polishuk), The Opener; MLBTR (Polishuk, Eustace), Severino; MLBTR (Anthony Franco), Soroka; Jon Heyman on X.