The Houston Astros are calling a press conference at 5:30 P.M. today to announce their new manager A.J. Hinch. This was first reported by Evan Drellich of the Houston Cronicle and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com
Hinch, 40, was most recently with the San Diego Padres front office. He served as the vice president of professional scouting for the Padres before he left that position this summer. When GM Josh Byrnes was let go of his duties this summer Hinch worked alongside assistant GMs Omar Minaya and Fred Uhlman Jr. to carry out those duties.
Hinch does have former managerial experience in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He was the skipper for parts of the 2009-2010 seasons, leading his team to an 89-123 (.420) record. He was fired and replaced by Kirk Gibson who subsequently was fired at the end of this season.
Going into the managerial search for the Astros it seemed Hinch was one of the favorites. He played in parts of eight seasons in the big leagues as a catcher; he has worked in the front office, and has had some experience in the dugout as a manager. It seems general manager Jeff Luhnow has found his guy who he can work with and bring out the analytical side the Astros are trying to accomplish during this rebuilding process.
Before Hinch was hired the other candidates were interim manager Tom Lawless, Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo, former Mariner manager Don Wakamatsu, former big leaguer Phil Nevin, and Rays bench coach Dave Martinez.