Astros GM Randy Flores 'Just Laughs' at Yordan Alvarez Trade Questions as the AL MVP Announcement Lands Thursday
New Astros general manager Randy Flores is not entertaining the question. Asked by MLB Network's Jon Morosi how he responds when other teams inquire about trading for Yordan Alvarez, Flores answered, "I just laugh" - and on Thursday the slugger at the center of those calls awaits the American League MVP announcement after a .316, 42-homer season.
The question has followed the Astros since before the trade deadline, and the new man in charge is swatting it away. Randy Flores, hired as Houston's general manager last month, was asked by Jon Morosi of MLB Network how he responds when other teams inquire about Yordan Alvarez, who has two years left on his contract. "I just laugh," Flores said, in Morosi's reporting, carried by ClutchPoints. "What a treat to come into a job and have someone of that talent, of that presence, and of that consistency." Morosi reported that Flores added how much he admires Alvarez personally, citing how warmly the slugger responded when Flores reached out by text after taking the job.
The numbers explain the laughter. Alvarez, 29, hit .316 with a .432 on-base percentage and a .601 slugging percentage in 2026 - a 1.033 OPS - with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, according to ClutchPoints. The report's assessment is blunt: without Alvarez, the Astros likely would have finished well below .500 this past season.
Houston's division title came with that caveat attached. The Astros won the American League West at 81-81, the lowest win total for a team that reached the postseason, before their October run ended - the context in which Flores, and before him the club's decision to hire former catcher Brad Ausmus as manager this week, are rebuilding the operation around the core that remains.
The next Alvarez headline arrives Thursday, when the American League MVP award is announced. ClutchPoints framed Alvarez as the likely winner of the award; this story records the announcement as pending, and the Sports Desk will file the result when it is official. What is already settled, on Flores's own words, is the trade question: unless the new general manager changes his mind, Alvarez is not going anywhere.
