Flores in final stages of finding Astros' next manager

HOUSTON -- Speaking with the media for the first time since he was hired as the Astros’ general manager nearly two weeks ago, Randy Flores said Tuesday from the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas that he hopes to make a decision soon on the club’s next manager, perhaps by the end of the week.

Former Astros catcher Brad Ausmus, former Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, former Astros third baseman Morgan Ensberg and Rangers bench coach Luis Urueta are the four known candidates to have interviewed for the position. The Astros didn’t renew the contract of manager Joe Espada following three seasons on the job.

Flores said he was “dotting i’s, crossing t’s” on the managerial hire.

“My hope is I get back to Houston at the end of this week, hopefully finalize our manager decision and spend the next week in bunker-down mode filling out our Major League staff and the order of operations of tackling our team and roster construction,” Flores said.

Flores said owner Jim Crane, senior advisor to ownership and baseball operations Jeff Bagwell and assistant general managers Charles Cook and Gavin Dickey were all involved in various ways in the interview process. Pujols interviewed Thursday in Houston, and Ausmus originally interviewed for the GM position, though the role of manager began to be discussed.

“I hope to just keep chipping away at some of the biggest decisions, and the biggest decision on my end is our manager,” said Flores, a longtime teammate of Pujols with the Cardinals.

Last month, the Astros announced they were retaining pitching coach Josh Miller, first-base coach Dave Clark, field coordinator Jason Bell, hitting coach Victor Rodriguez and bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte, though Bell later departed for a job with the Red Sox. Bench coach Omar López remains in the organization in a role to be determined.

That means the Astros need a bench coach in addition to replacing catching instructor Tim Cossins, game plan coach Tommy Kawamura, third-base coach Tony Perezchica, assistant hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz.

“That has been at the whiteboard stage, depending on where we go in our manager selection,” Flores said of the coaching staff. “Filling that out in a modern construction is collaboration. We have laid some of the groundwork internally on what candidates to pick, but we want to pair that with our manager’s rolodex, as well.”

The Astros also need to fill a front-office position following assistant GM Connor Huff’s resignation to take a position outside of baseball. Last month, Oz Ocampo -- who worked with Astros from 2012-20 and '22 -- interviewed with Crane for the assistant GM position. He signed many of the international players who helped the Astros win the World Series in 2017 and 2022.

Flores has also begun the challenge of assessing the Astros’ current roster, which means the status of shortstop Jeremy Peña is front and center. He is entering the final year of his contract and could be dealt in the same fashion star outfielder Kyle Tucker was traded prior to the 2025 season ahead of his final year before free agency.

The Astros also need to find offensive upgrades to their outfield, address a surplus of infield depth and add pitching depth to both the rotation and the bullpen. Flores said he met seven agent groups on Tuesday.

“The in-depth nature of that is going to happen after we have a manager and also in coordination with our manager,” Flores said. “We have laid some of the groundwork of where we might go.”

Flores has reached out to every member of the 40-man roster, including slugger Yordan Alvarez, who is the favorite to win the 2026 AL Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday. Alvarez was scheduled to fly to Las Vegas on Wednesday with Crane and Bagwell for the MLB Awards Show, where he’s up for the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award and Comeback Player of the Year, as well as All-MLB First or Second Team honors.

“He was one of those who responded to my texts, ‘Yo Flo, let’s go!’” Flores said. “It was so heartwarming that someone of that caliber -- when I reached out -- immediately [responded], and I look forward to meeting him soon.”

The one player Flores did meet last week was star third baseman Carlos Correa, who’s been working out daily at Daikin Park. Correa has been vocal with previous regimes about the future of the club.

“I talked to him at the ballpark the day he signed, and he seems like a really solid guy,” Correa said. “I said I want to win. I want to win championships again and I want to build the roster back to where it used to be, and it takes a collective effort. We’re going to be talking.”