Houston Astros interview Bobby Evans for GM slot
By Bill Felber
Bobby Evans was the general manager in San Francisco for four seasons. Now, he’s being considered for the Houston Astros job.
Trying to reconstitute a leadership structure decimated by the sign-stealing scandal, the Houston Astros have interviewed former San Francisco Giants general manager Bobby Evans.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the news that Evans was a candidate to succeed Jeff Luhnow as general manager in Houston. When MLB concluded its investigation into the sign-stealing allegations, Luhnow and field manager A.J. Hinch were both suspended for the season and then fired by team owner Jim Crane.
When San Francisco GM Brian Sabean was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations following the Giants’ 2014 World Series win, Evans – at the time vice president of baseball operations – took over Sabean’s title.
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He continued in that position until Farhan Zaidi was named president of baseball operations for the Giants. Evans’s removal ended a 24-year relationship with the Giants, the only team for which he had worked.
During Evans’ tenure as general manager, the Giants made one post-season appearance and finished a cumulative 32 games below .500.
Evans’ personnel judgments were sometimes criticized. He oversaw the 2016 signings of free-agent pitchers Johnny Cueto (six years, $130 million) and Jeff Samardzija (five years, $90 million). Both deals have been widely panned.
Following an 18-5 2016 season, Cueto has gone 12-12 in just 38 starts across three seasons, two of them injury-marred.
Samardzija’s record in San Francisco is 33-43 in 106 starts. He’s carrying a 4.10 ERA.
His other notable free-agent signing was closer Mark Melancon, who hitched on for four seasons at $57 million prior to 2017. Before being traded to Atlanta for a pair of minor leaguers, Melancon gave the Giants a 6-8 record with 15 saves and a 3.67 ERA.
In 2016, Evans sent Matt Duffy to Tampa Bay for pitcher Matt Moore. Moore lost a league-high 15 games for the Giants in 2017 and was traded to Texas.
Prior to the 2018 season, Evans negotiated trades that brought Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen to the Giants. The big part of those deals was Evans’ willingness to include prospect outfielder Bryan Reynolds in the McCutchen deal. As a 2019 rookie, Reynolds batted .302 and became a budding star in Pittsburgh.
Evans started with the Giants as a minor league administrative assistant just prior to the 1994 strike. He became director of player personnel in 2005.
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The Houston Astros need both a general manager and field manager. They interviewed Dusty Baker for the field manager’s position last week. There may be more than coincidence to Evans’ interview since his tenure in San Francisco overlapped Baker’s term as manager from 1994 through 2002.