The Angels’ search for a new general manager is already circling a familiar name, and that’s exactly what makes this one feel tricky.
Cardinals assistant GM Randy Flores is expected to be considered for the Angels’ opening, according to Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on September 28. Flores has been with the Cardinals since 2015, first as scouting director and then as assistant GM beginning in 2018.
The connection to the Angels’ current interim leader is obvious. John Mozeliak spent years running baseball operations in St.
Louis, from the 2007 offseason through the 2025 season, which means Flores came up and moved up under his watch. If Mozeliak is asked for input on possible candidates, Flores would be the kind of name that naturally surfaces.
And on paper, Flores has plenty going for him. He has overseen Cardinals drafts during his time in the organization, and that track record includes Tommy Edman, Brendan Donovan, Jordan Walker, and Masyn Winn.
But that’s also where the fit gets complicated.
The Angels need a GM who is built for the big-league roster first - someone comfortable navigating free agency, making trades, and helping shape a team at the top of the sport payroll-wise. With the new ownership group set to be the richest in baseball, this is a franchise that should be attacking the free-agent market and pursuing stars, not thinking like a club that has to win by being perfectly efficient.
Flores’ strengths line up more cleanly with a smaller-market model, or with the way the Angels operated under Arte Moreno. Draft well, develop well, hit on young players and build around that core - that’s the kind of approach teams like the Rays and Brewers need. The Angels are not expected to be in that lane now.
So while Flores checks plenty of boxes and could be a strong GM elsewhere, the source of the buzz matters here. Right now, the link appears to stem from Mozeliak’s familiarity with him as much as anything else.
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