A Serious Candidate Has Emerged For the Astros GM Position

The Houston Astros are entering a very important offseason as they are looking to fill vacancies when it comes to the general manager position as well as the manager position.

Focusing on the general manager position, the Astros let go of general manager Dana Brown on August 24th of this past season through a very inconsistent stretch from Houston, and as a result, Brown's duties were taken over by assistant general managers Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey, and Connor Huff, as well as senior advisor Jeff Bagwell.

With that said, the Astros do need to find a solution when it comes to who will be the general manager for this team and it appears that a serious candidate may have emerged as Houston looks to find their next general manager.

According to USA Today Major League Baseball columnist Bob Nightengale, Milwaukee Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine, who has been with the Brewers since 2007, has emerged as a serious candidate for the Astros GM vacancy.

This is a very interesting development for the Astros, as finding their next GM is going to be a critical step if Houston does want to be more consistent as a franchise moving forward.

Additionally, it is important to note that the Brewers have advanced to the World Series and will be taking on the Tampa Bay Rays, so it does appear that Kleine can help contribute to high-level success, which is something that the Astros are no doubt seeking after missing the playoffs in the 2025 season and being a Wild Card exit in 2026.

When it comes to how Kleine has progressed through his career with the Brewers, he has been able to make a steady climb. So, let's take a look at how he has moved up the chain in Milwaukee.

Before getting into Kleine's time with the Brewers, one interesting part of his career is the fact that he interned with the Astros back in 2007, so that is just something to keep in mind.

Starting off, Kleine was an associate scout (2007-2009), then he became an intern for baseball operations and amateur scouting (2009-2011), after that Kleine was an assistant in baseball operations (2011-2013), next up he was the coordinator for advanced scouting and baseball contracts (2013-2014), then Kleine was the manger of baseball operations (2014-2017), next he was the director of baseball operations (2017-2019).

Following that, Kleine took another step forward as he became the Vice President of baseball operations (2019-2023), and then he became an assistant general manager (2023-present).

So, when looking at Kleine's career thus far, it is clear that he has been patient and has been able to soak up a ton of knowledge in a solid organization like the Brewers and with that experience he has been able to climb steadily to put himself in a position to become a general manager in the MLB sooner rather than later.

With that said, the Brewers are in the Wold Series and the Astros could schedule an interview with Kleine to talk with him about his interest as well as if he would be a good fit in Houston to help build up this roster. However, it is likely that even if the Astros do end up wanting to bring on Kleine it would take place after the World Series so Kleine can finish off the season with Milwaukee.

So, over the coming days, it will be interesting to monitor if the rumors of the Astros and Kleine continue to pick up, and if they do, it will be intriguing to see if Houston schedules an interview and if they really do have their sights on Kleine being their next general manager as the Astros aim to be much improved for the 2027 season.

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