Randy Flores becomes 5th Latino GM in MLB history

Randy Flores, who spent the last eight seasons as an assistant general manager with the St. Louis Cardinals, has been named general manager of the Houston Astros. The Mexican American from Pico Rivera, Calif., is the fifth Latino GM in Major League Baseball history and the only Latino GM currently in the majors. 

He follows Omar Minaya, Ruben Amaro Jr., Jeff Luhnow and Al Avila as the latest Latino GM in MLB. He’s the first Latino GM in MLB since the Cuban American Avila was fired by the Detroit Tigers in 2022. 

“I am excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity,” Flores said in a statement. “The Astros have a long winning tradition under 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.”

2006 World Series champ

Flores, who starred at USC with former Astros All-Star Morgan Ensberg, played parts of eight seasons in the majors as a left-handed reliever from 2002 to 2010. He spent most of his playing career in St. Louis, where he helped the Cardinals win the 2006 World Series. 

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After retiring from the majors, Flores went back to USC. He was an assistant coach at USC in 2013 as a graduate student. While at USC, he founded a video technology company that focused on scouting. Then he rejoined the Cardinals as St. Louis’ scouting director in 2015. He was promoted to assistant GM of amateur and pro acquisition in 2019.

“Randy has had a huge impact on the Cardinals over the last 10 seasons,” Astros owner Jim Crane said. “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.”