Details On The Astros' GM Search
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The Astros hired Randy Flores as their new general manager on Friday , as the longtime Cardinals assistant GM was the choice to succeed Dana Brown as the head of Houston’s front office. Flores was one of 10 known candidates linked to the Astros’ search, and MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart adds another name by reporting that the team spoke to Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus about the GM vacancy the day before Flores was hired.
Ausmus has been the Yankees’ bench coach for the last three seasons and was the Athletics’ bench coach in 2022. The 57-year-old is best known for his two stints as a big league manager (with the Tigers from 2014-17 and with the Angels for the 2019 season) and his 18-year playing career. Ten of Ausmus’ 18 seasons were spent in Houston, where he was a teammate and friend of Jeff Bagwell, a senior advisor to the Astros’ baseball ops department and a known close confidant to owner Jim Crane.
In terms of front office experience, Ausmus worked as a special assistant to then-Angels GM Billy Eppler in 2018, and as a field executive for the Padres from 2011-13. He interviewed for the Astros’ GM job before Brown was hired, and Ausmus also spoke with the club about becoming their next manager in the wake of A.J. Hinch’s departure following the sign-stealing scandal, prior to Houston’s hiring of Dusty Baker.
With Flores now in place, McTaggart suggests that Ausmus could again be a contender for the manager’s job. Ausmus is obviously a known quantity to the organization, though his hiring wouldn’t help the perception that Crane and Bagwell (and not Flores) are the ones making the biggest decisions in baseball operations.
Then again, as The Athletic’s Chandler Rome puts it, “Crane has never cared much for optics,” with Rome citing the fact that Crane’s disagreements with former GM James Click led to Click’s dismissal just days after Houston won the 2022 World Series. Rome also notes that Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine and Crane were seen attending the Houston Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies a few weeks ago, which added to the perception that Kleine was a leading choice for the GM job.
According to an earlier report from Rome, Kleine was offered the GM job on Wednesday night. It isn’t clear what caused negotiations to break down between Kleine and the Astros, though the fact that Ausmus apparently interviewed a day after the offer to Kleine is an interesting wrinkle. The Astros also took the somewhat unusual step of interviewing Oz Ocampo for an assistant GM job earlier this week, before their new general manager was in place.
Whether Flores was a fallback choice or not, it’s essentially irrelevant now that he actually has the GM job, though Rome notes that the lengthy interview process has left Flores with little time to maneuver before the impending lockout on December 1. Hiring a manager will be one of the first items on his plate, and if not Ausmus, McTaggart suggests that Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, or Morgan Ensberg could be considered as candidates.
Pujols and Molina obviously have ties to Flores from St. Louis, and the two Cardinals legends have both shown past interest in becoming big league managers. Ensberg is a known quantity to both Flores (they were college teammates) and the Astros as a whole, as Ensberg played with Houston from 2000-07 and spent several years as a coach and manager in Houston’s minor league system.
Why not bring back Luhnow?
Think was lifetime ban for the trash can sign stealing I THINK 🤔
He tried to sue MLB when the cheating scandal came out. Then he transitioned into soccer
No better way to tell Flores that he was wanted than to interview others after the process was supposedly over and to interview assistant GMs before he was hired. Must give him incredible confidence in his position.
I think the concern is mostly in your mind.
Hire a real manager. Ausmus, Pujols, Morgan Ensberg??? Hell if we want bad ideas just make Jose Altuve the manager. Any of those names listed would be worse than Joe Espada and that’s saying a lot. Seems the Astros will continue to fall, at least I have the Rockets
The player manager is under utilitized.
Yes! He can teach all the young players how to hide electronic devices in their uniforms! A true leader of men.
Where is your proof Altuve did this? I have never seen any.
Name me another player who hits an extremely historic home run and his first thought is “don’t take my shirt off guys.”
It’s weak and circumstantial, but the late 2010s Astros have earned less than zero benefit of the doubt. Fans are right to question pretty much every step of their careers during those years as well.
I dunno. He could be autistic.
Oof, hope they don’t truly entertain picking Ensberg. That guy is perpetually drowning in dissonance.
Please no Asmus or the other guys!!! There has to be more qualified candidates
Yadier Molina or Rodney Linares please ! Those would be the top 2 names mentioned that I like the most!
I wonder who STL will hire to replace Flores. Hope he makes a good GM, but Crane may not give him the runway.
Ausmus is very familiar with the Astros, and he knows Jeff Bagwell from his playing days. I think he would be able to navigate and get along with Jim Crane, and at the end of the day, he’s the one running the show.
I meant as a manager not GM. Apologies.
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