Flores’ first Astros decision leads to two familiar interviews

Randy Flores’ first major move as Astros general manager is to look inward, to people he already knows well. MLB.com reported Wednesday that Houston plans to interview former teammates Albert Pujols and Morgan Ensberg for its vacant managerial job, a search that already has a clear shape: one candidate with a short but notable winter-ball résumé, the other with years of minor-league managing behind him.

The Astros have not confirmed the reported interviews, so the schedule itself is still just that — a schedule. Even so, the timing says plenty about where Flores wants to start. He was hired Friday as Houston’s 15th general manager and introduced Monday at Daikin Park, where he said trust, energy and chemistry were the qualities he would seek in a manager. That point of emphasis matters because Houston is not hiring into a rebuild. It is hiring into a roster with expectations and a front office that wants the next manager in place quickly.

Pujols is the more recognizable name, but the more important detail is his recent work in the dugout. He does not have MLB managerial experience, yet he managed Leones del Escogido to the Dominican Winter League title in 2024-25 and then helmed Team Dominican Republic in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Those jobs do not equal a major league bench, but they do show that he has already handled lineups, pressure and the demands of leading accomplished players in a tournament setting.

That is a meaningful part of Houston’s search because the club is not simply asking for a figurehead. The manager will inherit a veteran core, and Flores said the role requires someone he can trust and communicate with. Pujols’ playing career gives him immediate credibility, and his winter-league title gives him a recent example of managing a team through a real competitive test. The Astros’ interest does not mean the job is his; it means Houston is willing to weigh a candidate whose coaching experience has come outside the majors.

Ensberg offers a different profile. He has spent the past three seasons managing the Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, after four seasons as manager of the Montgomery Biscuits, the Rays’ Double-A club. During that earlier stretch, he guided Montgomery to four postseason berths. He also has managed in the Arizona Fall League and in winter ball in Venezuela, a résumé that reflects a longer climb through the player-development side of the game.

If Pujols brings the star power and the recent winter-ball title, Ensberg brings familiarity with the grind of a minor-league season. That distinction matters because a major league manager has to handle more than game strategy. He has to work through injuries, message consistency, bullpen usage and the day-to-day routine of a club that expects to win. Ensberg’s background suggests a manager used to developing players and adapting over a long season, not just a name attached to a headline.

There is also a direct line between Flores and both candidates. He played with Pujols in St. Louis from 2004-08, a run that included the Cardinals’ 2006 World Series championship. Flores and Ensberg were teammates at USC from 1995-97. That familiarity does not determine the outcome, but it does explain why these two names surfaced early in the process. Flores is not starting from zero; he is interviewing people whose work he has seen up close.

The search is moving alongside other options, too. MLB.com reported that the Astros will also interview Rangers bench coach Luis Urueta. That wider list matters because it shows Houston is still gathering information, even while it moves quickly. The club’s goal is not to celebrate the search itself, but to fill the job before the offseason drags on.

For now, the practical consequence is straightforward: Houston has a general manager in place, and Flores has immediately pushed the manager search to the front of the line. Pujols and Ensberg give the Astros two familiar but different choices to examine, and the next step is the one Flores said had to come first — interviews leading to a hire.