The Astros have hired Cardinals assistant general manager and scouting director Randy Flores as their new general manager. Houston announced the move Friday evening, per MLB Trade Rumors. He replaces Dana Brown. Yahoo Sports reported that Houston and Brown agreed to part ways in August.

Owner Jim Crane said in the team's press release, as quoted by MLB Trade Rumors: "Randy has had a huge impact on the Cardinals over the last 10 seasons. Throughout the entire interview process, we've been thoroughly impressed." The feed excerpt cuts off there, so we don't have the rest of Crane's statement. We also have nothing on contract length or on how Flores's role will be structured. Yahoo Sports described the hire as the continuation of a "whirlwind offseason" in Houston. The summaries we have don't say what else has happened.

Yahoo's explainer focuses on Flores's draft record in St. Louis. It credits him with drafting Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn, and it calls him a former reliever. Our archive has his playing days: he pitched for the Minnesota Twins in 2010, going 2-0 with a 3.19 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 31.0 innings over 58 games.

The two players show a mixed result. Walker hit .269 with 29 home runs, 102 RBI and a .793 OPS in 158 games this season. Winn hit .232 with five homers and a .625 OPS in 136 games. Both are in the Cardinals' lineup, so Houston is hiring the man who drafted them, not the players.

The Astros he inherits finished 81-81 and, per our standings, held first place in the AL West. They were a game ahead of Texas at 80-82. Their run differential was minus-32. They closed the regular season by beating the Athletics 13-2 and 9-0 on Sept. 26 and 27, then lost 7-3 to the White Sox on Sept. 30. Yahoo's framing of the job is that Flores must "fix" an average team. Joe Espada is listed as the Astros' manager. None of the reporting says whether Flores will keep him.

The Cardinals lose a front-office executive from a club that went 77-85 and finished fourth in the NL Central, with a four-game losing streak to end its season. No outlet has said who will replace Flores in St. Louis's scouting department. The reporting also doesn't say when he will start work or make his first moves in Houston.