Cards hire Flores as new scouting director

SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Flores, a reliever on the Cardinals' 2006 World Series championship club, has returned to the organization to serve as the director of scouting, a position the Cardinals were unexpectedly left to fill after the dismissal of Chris Correa on July 1.

Flores becomes the Cardinals' fourth scouting director in the last five years. Jeff Luhnow held the title until 2011, at which time he left to become general manager of the Astros. Dan Kantrovitz followed him and spent three years in the post before taking a front-office position with the A's. Correa, hired last December, was let go this summer after becoming a person of interest in an FBI investigation into unauthorized access of the Houston Astros' database. Correa later admitted to entering the Astros' system.

While that investigation continues, the Cardinals went outside the organization to hire Correa's replacement. There, they still found a familiar face.

Flores, a left-handed pitcher, signed as a free agent with the Cardinals in November 2003 and went on to pitch five of his eight Major League seasons in St. Louis. He retired after the 2011 season and finished a master's degree in postsecondary administration/sports administration at the University of Southern California. While going back to school, Flores also served as a coach for the USC baseball team.

He has since worked as a broadcaster/analyst for various networks and founded his own company, On Deck Digital, a high-definition video capture service for amateur baseball and softball leagues. Several Major League teams utilize the service.

"I had a lot of respect for how he went about his business, and I think he's a great pickup for our organization," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, a teammate of Flores' for one season in St. Louis. "You see a guy like Randy who has the experience, but he also brings a lot of things to the table. He's a smart guy. He's a great communicator. He's very conscientious. And with all of that put together, he's the type of person you just want involved here."

Flores, 40, will begin the new job Monday and is scheduled to be formally introduced a day later. General manager John Mozeliak said he would not comment on the hire until Tuesday's press conference.