Astros owner Jim Crane hails Randy Flores as a 'perfect fit' in GM hire

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros interviewed a variety of candidates in the search for their next general manager.

It quickly became clear that Randy Flores was their guy.

“We went over it and over it and over it and as we reflected back on everybody we spoke to and the qualities we were looking for Randy was a perfect fit,” Astros owner Jim Crane said Monday. “He has experience in every single area of baseball and you don’t find that very often and he has been trained and been around some good organizations. So, he stood out at the end.”

Flores was introduced as the 15th general manager of the Astros on Monday after being hired on Friday to replace Dana Brown, who was let go in August with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.

The Astros cut ties with Brown on Aug. 24. Three assistant general managers and Hall of Famer and special adviser Jeff Bagwell took over his responsibilities for the remainder of the season while Crane sought a replacement.

Flores had been serving as St. Louis’ assistant general manager of amateur and pro acquisition.

The former major league pitcher joined the Cardinals’ front office as director of scouting in 2015 and spent eight seasons (2019-26) as an assistant GM with the club.

He said there is a mixture of excitement and nerves as well as another emotion as he embarks on his first general manager job.

“There’s a weight to the role,” he said. “Does that make sense? A weight and a responsibility. That’s what I feel right now, actually.”

His first order of business will be hiring a manager after Joe Espada’s contract was not renewed after the AL West Champions were swept by the Chicago White Sox in their Wild Card Series.

Flores said he’ll get to work on that task immediately and shared some things he’ll be looking for when filling that position.

“The qualities you look for, in coordination with Jim, we’re talking about trust, we’re talking about energy, we’re talking about chemistry,” he said.

Crane added that he interviewed a few managerial candidates before hiring Flores.

“But now that we’ve got Randy in place, he’ll take over that process along with our team and we’ll get to work on that,” he said. “We hope to get that filled very quickly.”

After that they’ll set their sights on working on the roster for next season. And Crane said he doesn’t envision it being a rebuilding year.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a complete tear down at all,” he said. “I think we’ve got enough talent to work with and we’ve got to make some good decisions and make some changes and solidify a better lineup and a better team than we had last year.”

He pointed out that even though the season had a disappointing ending, Houston did return to the postseason after missing out the previous year. The Astros went 81-81 to win the AL West for the fifth time in six years, becoming the first big league club without a winning record to reach the playoffs in a non-shortened season.

“We did make the playoffs, which is always the goal,” Crane said. “But we have very high standards here and so I’m sure these guys will get together and make some good decisions and you’ll see some changes made with the roster, surely.”

Flores pitched in the majors for eight seasons from 2002-10, going 11-5 with a 4.61 ERA and four saves. The left-hander made 347 relief appearances and three starts for Texas, Colorado, St. Louis and Minnesota.

Crane likes that Flores played professionally, a quality that very few MLB general managers have. Additionally, Crane, who made his fortune as a shipping magnate, was impressed with all of the different roles Flores has served in the Cardinals front office.

“His resume is so complete that you very rarely find a guy that’s worked in every single department,” Crane said. “I started on the dock in my business and made it to the top. So, I think it’s very important to know how everything functions and what those people are doing and how they’re doing it and determine if they’re doing it well or not doing it well.”

Flores said the quality from his playing days that he thinks will help him succeed in his new role is his competitiveness.

“I’m competitive,” he said. “We’re all competitive in this game. Otherwise, why do this job ... we want development, we want process, but ultimately every night there’s a real game. It’s not expected outcomes. It’s not probabilities. It’s a win and a loss, and there’s 162 of them, and I can’t wait to be in that fight with this team.”

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