Former SF Giants GM in the running for Houston Astros front office opening

In a bit of an odd turn of events, the Houston Astros decided not to renew the contract of general manager James Click after they won the World Series in 2022. They have operated this winter without a general manager, but they appear to be in the process of finding a new office executive. The Astros have interviewed a handful of candidates (subscription required) according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic including former SF Giants general manager Bobby Evans.

Former SF Giants GM in the running for Houston Astros front office opening

Evans is joined by Michael Hill (Miami Marlins) and Dana Brown (Atlanta Braves) as the three known candidates. Hill worked as the Marlins president of baseball operations before parting ways after the 2020 season. He had been with Miami in a variety of roles since 2002.

Brown has served as the Braves vice president of scouting since 2019. During his tenure, Atlanta has had a lot of success in the draft, selecting both Michael Harris II and Vaughn Grissom in 2019 as well as Spencer Strider in 2020. Harris and Strider finished first and second, respectively, in the NL Rookie of the Year voting last season. The Braves have been very aggressive with extensions in recent years and both players have already been locked up to long-term extensions.

Similarly, Evans has a wealth of front office experience. He was hired by the Giants in 1994 and has worked in a variety of front office roles since then including being promoted to general manager at the start of the 2015 season.

Brian Sabean was promoted to vice president of baseball operations with Evans overseeing the day-to-day operations and roster management. It bears mentioning that Sabean and Evans played critical roles during the championship run, but it felt like the latter never found his footing as the team's general manager.

The Giants reached the playoffs in 2016 due in part to some of the moves Evans made including signing Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto as well as trading for Matt Moore in a four-player deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

However, the Giants began a sharp decline in 2017 and Evans was removed from his role at the end of the 2018 season after a disastrous 73-89 record. The longtime Giants executive became the face of the Giants' failures, but the failures extended beyond just one person.

Evans has not received another shot since his tenure with San Francisco came to an end. However, he did interview for the Astros' general manager position in 2020. The Astros are targeting some well-respected names, so he is facing some stiff competition.