Could New Astros GM Randy Flores Hire Pujols or Molina as Manager?

Randy Flores, who oversaw the drafting of current St. Louis Cardinals’ standouts Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn in 2020 and helped restock St. Louis’ Minor League system with talent in recent years, has been named the new general manager of the Houston Astros, the team announced on Friday night.

Flores, 51, was a member of the Cardinals’ 2006 World Series championship team as a relief pitcher. He had worked for the team for the past 11 seasons – first, as their director of scouting and the last eight years as an assistant general manager. Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom thought so highly of Flores abilities as a talent evaluator that he kept him on staff in St. Louis this past season under new front office leadership.

“I am excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity,” Flores said in a release. “The Astros have a long winning tradition under (owner) Jim Crane and I look forward to contributing to the success. I want to thank the Cardinals’ organization for the opportunities and support that made this next chapter possible. My family and I are excited to make Houston home."

One of Flores' first tasks will be hiring a new manager for the Astros. His former Cardinals' teammates, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, have mentioned that they are eager to manage in the big leagues. Pujols, one of four players in history with at least 700 home runs in managing in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, while Molina is managing in the Venezuelan League.  

Flores was in the running for the job with Brewers’ assistant GM Matt Kleine. With uncertainty surrounding Kleine’s willingness to leave the World Champion Brewers, Crane ultimately offered the job to Flores.        

“Randy has had a huge impact on the Cardinals over the last 10 seasons,” said Astros’ owner Jim Crane, a native of the St. Louis suburb of Dellwood, Mo. “Throughout the entire interview process we’ve been thoroughly impressed with Randy and his background in scouting and player acquisition. We’re happy to welcome Randy and his family to the Astros and we can’t wait to get to work on bringing another championship to Houston.”

The Cardinals, who have MLB’s No. 2-ranked Minor League system thanks in part to the work in accumulating talent by Flores, nearly lost assistant GM Rob Cerfolio earlier this offseason when he was a finalist for the president of baseball operations job with the Athletics. Taylor Smith, a 31-year-old assistant GM for the Red Sox, was ultimately hired to run the Athletics’ front office. Cerfolio, 33 and a Yale graduate, returned to the Cardinals and could emerge as a candidate for the club’s vacant GM job if one is added.

Flores pitched for the Texas Rangers (2002), Colorado Rockies (2002, 2009-10), Cardinals (2004-08) and Twins (2010). He worked a scoreless eighth inning and picked up the win in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series – a game famously closed out by Andam Wainwright, who famously struck out star slugger Carlos Beltran looking with a knee-buckling curveball.

Jeff Luhnow was hired by the Astros to be their GM after working in the Cardinals’ front office from 2003-11. He was behind the Cardinals opening up a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic and he stepped up the franchise’s player scouting in Venezuela. The MLB Drafts overseen by Luhnow from 2005-07 produced players such as Allen Craig, Jon Jay, Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia – players who helped the Cardinals win their 11th World Series crown in 2011.

In 2015, an investigation revealed infighting between the Cardinals and Astros, and the Cardinals were ultimately found guilty of launching cyberattacks on the Astros’ databases.

The Cardinals hired Flores in 2015 to replace director of scouting Chris Correa, who was dismissed after an MLB investigation determined that he had hacked into the Astros personnel and scouting databases in 2013 and ’14. Correa was later sentenced to 46 months in prison.

Flores is credited with drafting slugging outfielder Joshua Baez in 2021, standout rookie JJ Wetherholt in 2024 and top pitching prospects Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin out of the University of Tennessee in 2025.

Flores was promoted to assistant general manager in 2018 by former president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, and he scored Walker (No. 21 pick), Winn (No. 54 pick) and Burleson (No. 70 pick) in the transformational 2020 MLB Draft. Walker was a first-time All-Star and the MLB Home Run Derby champion in 2026. Winn is a finalist for his second Gold Glove Award while Burleson became the first Cardinals player in 55 years to lead MLB in RBI with 116.

Picking in the Top 10 of the MLB Draft for the first time in 26 years, the Cardinals nabbed Wetherholt with the No. 7 pick in 2024. Flores jumped at the chance to select the power arms of Doyle and Franklin in the first two rounds of the 2025 MLB Draft. Doyle (No. 2) and Franklin (No. 6) are two of the Cardinals’ most coveted prospects in their Minor League system.