Astros Interview Mike Rizzo for Their General Manager Vacancy, the Man Who Beat Them in the 2019 World Series
Houston's GM search has a most experienced candidate: Mike Rizzo, 65, who ran Washington from 2009 to 2025 and whose Nationals beat the Astros in seven games in 2019. Every other name tied to the job would be a first-time front-office leader.
The Houston Astros are interviewing longtime Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo for their vacant general manager job, USA Today reported Monday. Brewers assistant general manager Matt Kleine, a known candidate, has already interviewed for the position, which has been open since Dana Brown was let go earlier this year.
Rizzo is easily the most experienced of the candidates publicly connected to the Houston job. A longtime scout, he got the top job in Washington in 2009 with the club rebuilding, built a strong young core led by Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg - both drafted first overall in back-to-back years - and Washington emerged as a contender in 2012 and stayed that way for the rest of the decade, winning the World Series in 2019. That title came in seven games against the Astros, the team he now hopes to run. Field Level Media reported that Rizzo has told friends of his "deep desire" to work for the Astros, and that he and his family live in West Palm Beach, Florida, home of the spring training complexes for both the Astros and the Nationals.
The rest of the Houston list is a study in contrast: White Sox assistant GM Josh Barfield, Cardinals assistant GM Randy Flores, Royals senior vice president Scott Sharp and Braves assistant GM Ben Sestanovich, plus two of the Astros' own assistant GMs, Charles Cook and Gavin Dickey - all of whom would be first-time front-office leaders if hired. Rizzo's Washington run also carries its warnings: the 2019 championship was the end of the club's competitive window, the Nationals fell below .500 in 2020 and stayed there, stars including Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Max Scherzer were traded away, and Rizzo was fired last year as an industry perception took hold that Washington had fallen behind on data and analytics. At 65, he is significantly older than the other candidates - and he interviewed with the Athletics last month, who eventually hired 31-year-old Taylor Smith to run their front office.
