Astros Hire Randy Flores as GM With Major Decisions Ahead

The Houston Astros have found themselves a new general manager. Friday evening, it was announced that the Astros have hired Randy Flores, the St. Louis Cardinals’ former assistant general manager.

Flores has spent more than 10 seasons with the Cardinals. Jim Crane was thoroughly impressed by Flores and his time with the Cardinals, as well as by him throughout the interview process, per MLB trade rumors.

Flores and Crane will reportedly meet with the media for an introductory press conference on Monday morning, where we can hear more about the new addition to the Astros organization.

In a way, this hire is a bit surprising since Matt Kleine had become the focal point of the Astros GM hiring speculation. That said, they went in a different direction and hired Flores, and they seem excited about what he will bring to the organization.

Flores, 51, has been with the Cardinals since 2015. He has been their assistant general manager and director of scouting since 2018.

Interestingly enough, Flores was hired to replace Chris Correa, a former Cardinals executive who was sentenced to 46 months in prison for hacking into the Astros’ scouting and personnel database back in 2013 and 2014. Now, after an ironic turn of events, he is a part of the Astros organization.

Now, with this big hire out of the way, what does this mean for Flores?

Flores will inherit a little more than a to-do list. He inherits a payroll, a roster, and an empty manager’s chair.

One of the top priorities will likely be pitching depth.

The Astros used a club-record 19 starting pitchers. Peter Lambert (3.82 ERA) led the team in innings, and Tatsuya Imai (4.93 ERA) and Mike Burrows (5.99 ERA) struggled. They were hit with a huge number of injuries, and a long list of pitchers went down throughout the season. Lambert cannot hold this staff together all on his own, and they need a few more strong, consistent arms. That is another tall order Flores will be inheriting.

He is also entering an organization with an empty manager’s chair.

The Astros organization decided not to renew Joe Espada’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of October. Flores will enter his new position with the manager’s chair empty. That means helping find a manager who can work with the front office, develop the team’s younger players, and get Houston back on track. It is another major decision that could shape the team’s future.

There are a lot of obstacles for Flores. Houston needs someone who can build, and someone who can really just hit the reset button and make the crucial decisions that need to be made. The first deadline he faces is the November 20 tender deadline.