Houston Astros hire Bo Porter as new manager, according to report

Washington Nationals third base coach Bo Porter will be the next Houston Astros manager, according to multiple reports that surfaced early Thursday morning. Fox Sports cited major-league sources that said Porter would be named as Houston's manager for the 2013 season Thursday.

Porter was one of nine candidates the Astros interviewed to be the full-time replacement to Brad Mills, who was fired Aug. 19 after three seasons with the team.

Aside from Porter, Houston also interviewed Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Dave Martinez, Boston Red Sox bench coach Tim Bogar, former Astros catcher Brad Ausmus and their own interim manager, Tony DeFrancesco.

Astros first-year general manager Jeff Luhnow hired DeFranceso from the Oklahoma City RedHawks as the interim to replace Mills.

Before heading to Washington, Porter was on major league staffs in Florida and Arizona. He also served as a minor league manager and outfield and baserunning coordinator.

Porter interviewed for managerial openings with the Marlins twice and also was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Pirates' job following the 2010 season.

He was the Marlins' third-base coach from 2007 to 2009 and a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks in ‘2010 before joining the Nationals last season.

Porter is also a former major league outfielder who played in 89 games with the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers from 1999 to 2001. He played college baseball at the University of Iowa

Porter, a 40-year-old Houston resident, will be a manager for the first time, but is expected to stay with the Nationals until they finish their playoff run.

DeFrancesco will finish the season and would be offered a position in the organization next year. Speaking of next year, it won't just be a new skipper at Minute Maid Park, but there will be new league and division opponents as well, with the Astros moving to the American League West.

Luhnow had this to say prior to the report on Porter's hiring:

"I think there's a lot of reasons to reflect on the last 50 years, and there's a lot of good memories," Luhnow said. "But at the same time there's really compelling reasons to get excited about the future. New look next year, new division, new league, new staff. There's just a lot of reasons we're excited about next year."