photo: Rob Cerfolio, Randy Flores, Jason Isringhausen (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals will need a new head of scouting in 2027 as Randy Flores is the new general manager of the Houston Astros. Three Cardinals finalists missed out on Gold Glove Awards. Our history feature highlights memorable happenings this week in team annals.
Scouting head Randy Flores moves to Houston
As is common almost every offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals’ staff undergoes changes to its composition. Sometimes people move to different positions within the organization. Other times staff leave the organization, either voluntarily or not of their own choosing.
Last week we reported that major league hitting coach Brant Brown was let go. This week the news was that Cardinals’ Assistant GM/Scouting Director Randy Flores has voluntarily left the organization to become the new general manager of the Houston Astros.
The Astros announced on Friday, October 30 the hire of Flores, 51, to be their new General Manager, replacing Dana Brown, who had been let go in August. Brown was hired in 2023 to replace James Click, the GM of the team from 2020 to 2022. The Astros do not have a President of Baseball Operations.
Flores, a former relief pitcher for the Cardinals from 2004 to 2008, was hired by St. Louis in August 2015 as the Director of Amateur Scouting. In November 2018, Flores was promoted to Assistant General Manager. When current President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom began his tenure with the organization, he put Flores in charge of professional scouting as well.
Flores has ties to the Astros in a unique way, in that he was originally hired by the Cardinals to replace Chris Correa, who was charged in federal court with Unauthorized Access to a Computer Database in 2015. Correa pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a 46-month prison term in a federal prison in 2016. The database he had accessed illegally was that of the Houston Astros.
The Astros/Cardinals association goes back further, as the Astros’ owner and St. Louis native Jim Crane raided the Cardinals for another executive, Jeff Luhnow, who Crane hired as their GM in 2011. The Luhnow tenure in Houston ended in 2019 due to his association with the Astros’ 2017 sign stealing scandal.
The Astros hired Flores over the man who was generally seen as the frontrunner for the position, Milwaukee Brewers’ Assistant General Manager Matt Kleine. It was reported that Kleine had been offered the position, but apparently there was a breakdown in negotiations over title and salary, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
It is Chaim Bloom’s job in the coming days and weeks to replace Flores, either with someone internally or outside the organization.
Cardinals miss on three Gold Glove Awards
On Sunday night, the winners of the American and National League Gold Glove Awards were announced. The annual awards recognize the best defensive player at each position in both leagues. They are voted on by managers and coaches, and include a statistical component worth 25% of the total score.
The Cardinals had three finalists for Gold Gloves, meaning they were among the top three finishers at their positions. They are shortstop Masyn Winn, second baseman JJ Wetherholt, and pitcher Michael McGreevy.
None of the three Cardinals won. The NL selections at second base, shortstop and pitcher in the National League are Brice Turang (MIL), Geraldo Perdomo (ARI) and Nolan McLean (NYM), respectively.
Better luck next year.
The Big Picture
The World Series is over and the offseason has begun. As of 9 am on Thursday, October 29, the free agent season was underway. Already many major league players have announced they have elected free agency.
The Cardinals had only one free agent to be, Ryne Stanek. Stanek had a $6 million dollar club option for 2027 with a $1 million buyout. On Sunday, the Cardinals declined the option, making the right-handed reliever a free agent.
Also on November 2, players who ended the season on the 60-day injured list must be returned to the 40-man roster. The Cardinals have applicable player, RHP Max Rajcic.
The month of November is the time for major league award winners to be announced. The Gold Glove winners were announced on Sunday. The remaining awards will be given out over the next two weeks.
The annual General Manager Meetings will take place during the week of November 10th. This is the time in a normal offseason that discussions concerning offseason trades and signings first occur. This may change due to the likely lockout on December 1.
Other offseason dates in November of interest are November 17 and November 20. On the 17th, two things will occur. The first is the deadline for players to accept or reject the Qualifying Offer. The QO must be made to players during the five-day window following the end of the World Series. The Cardinals have no applicable players.
Also on the 17th, teams must add players to the 40-man roster that they wish to protect from the Rule 5 draft. This will take place regardless of whether the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft occurs in December.
November 20 is the tender deadline. On this date, teams must offer a contract to all pre-arbitration and arbitration eligible players. Any player who is not tendered a contract is released from the organization. The Cardinals have nine arbitration eligible players – Andre Pallante, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, Matthew Liberatore, Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages and Kyle Leahy. The salaries of the arbitration eligible players will be determined at a later date.
Over the next couple of months, these and other activities will be chronicled in this space.
Stay tuned for what’s next in the offseason and beyond.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
November is awards month. The Gold Glove Awards were already announced on November 1. None of the three Cardinal finalists won.
The Platinum Glove Award winners will be announced on November 6. The Heart and Hustle awards will be given out as well on November 6. The Cardinals’ nominee for this award is second baseman JJ Wetherholt.
Other awards to be given out in November are:
- Rookie of the Year – November 9. JJ Wetherholt is a candidate.
- Manager of the Year – November 10.
- Cy Young and Relief Pitcher of the Year – November 11.
- MVP – November 11.
- Hank Aaron Award – November 11. Jordan Walker is the Cardinals’ nominee.
Over the next several weeks, the Cardinals will likely be busy. The first move was declining the 2027 option on reliever Ryne Stanek, making him a free agent.
Due to the potential short duration of the offseason because of the likely lockout on December 1, the Cardinals may be making trades or signing free agents during November. Roster changes will be coming as well beginning in mid-November.
Blast from the Past
The World Series ended with the Milwaukee Brewers defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to win the franchise’s first World Series. The end of the postseason in 2026 came earlier than other postseasons in the past, when it extended into the first week of November.
In this week’s Blast from the Past, we continue to chronicle postseason and offseason events that occurred in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals’ franchise during the period October 26 through November 1. These events include postseason games as well as other offseason events of interest.
October 26, 1985 – On this date, the Cardinals lost Game 6 of the World Series due to an incorrect and controversial on a play at first base. In the ninth inning, the Royals’ Jorge Orta hit a ground ball fielded by Cardinal first baseman Jack Clark and tossed to pitcher Todd Worrell who raced to cover first base. Umpire Don Denkinger called Orta safe, but video showed that Worrell beat Orta to the bag. There was no replay in 1985, so the bad call stood and the Cardinals lost Game 6 and eventually the World Series in Game 7.
October 26, 2014 – On this date, Cardinal outfielder and former top prospect Oscar Taveras was killed in an automobile accident in the Dominican Republic. It was later reported that Taveras was intoxicated, leading to the accident that killed him and his girlfriend.
October 27, 2006 – The Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the World Series to take home the trophy for their 10th World Series title. David Eckstein was named MVP of the Series.
October 27, 2011 – Third baseman David Freese hit a triple in the ninth inning and a solo home run in the 11th to give the Cardinals the win in Game 6 of the World Series over the Texas Rangers. This game was tied and untied multiple times, going into extra innings before the final Freese hit to win the game.
October 28, 1968 – Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson won his first of two Cy Young Awards in the “Year of the Pitcher”. Gibson finished the season with a record of 22-9 and a season ERA of 1.12, the latter a record that has never been broken.
October 28, 2011 – After winning a tight Game 6 in dramatic fashion thanks to David Freese, the Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series easily, by the score of 6-2. Freese contributed to the win with a tying two-run double in the first inning and was named the MVP of the Series.
October 31, 2011 – On this date, the Cardinals announced that long time manager Tony La Russa would retire after managing the team to the franchise’s 11th World Series title.
La Russa briefly returned to managing the Chicago White Sox for the second time in 2021-2022, allowing him to pass John McGraw for second place in all-time managerial wins. La Russa was forced to leave the White Sox job in August 2022 due to health reasons and made his final retirement announcement on October 3 of that year.
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