One of the hottest names in baseball, Tampa Bay Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, has reportedly declined the Houston Astros open GM position:
BillShaikin Bill ShaikinHearing#Rays GM already has decided against taking Astros job.
Friedman, a Houston native who built Tampa Bay's playoff teams despite a tiny payroll, was considered the front-runner for the Astros job.
Despite having a huge fan base in one of baseball's big markets and a deep-pocketed owner seemingly committed to winning, Houston has had a tough time attracting quality candidates:
SI_JonHeyman Jon Heymanin addition to thad levine of texas, rick hahn of the white sox and kim ng of mlb turned down interview opps for astros gm
The Astros, at 56-106, had the worst record in baseball by a significant margin and there isn't much talent in the minor leagues either, so anyone willing to take the job is signing up for a significant rebuilding process.