New scouting director impressed with post-baseball career

ST. LOUIS (AP) Randy Flores said the St. Louis Cardinals surprised him when they asked if he'd be interested in being their new scouting director.

General manager John Mozeliak said Tuesday that the 40-year-old former lefty and member of St. Louis' 2006 World Series championship team impressed the team with his post-baseball pursuits.

Mozeliak said the hire late last week was unrelated to the FBI investigation of hacking in the organization of the Houston Astros' database. The team is also conducting an internal investigation that Mozeliak said was ongoing.

''It's really quite independent,'' Mozeliak said. ''Clearly, we needed to bring somebody in and get some leadership on that side that was missing; we needed to move forward on that.''

Flores replaces Chris Correa, who was fired in mid-June after admitting he had gained access to the Astros' database.

Jared Odom, who had been interim scouting director since the firing, was not interviewed for the post.

Flores said he's followed the team ''constantly'' since his career ended and that there had been certain ''reach-outs'' over the years to congratulate the team on its accomplishments.

''When I found out the news there was a reach-out saying `My thoughts are with you in a difficult time,''' Flores said. ''That was the extent of it.''

Flores added to reporters: ''I knew whatever I read from you guys.''

Mozeliak said Flores doesn't have quite the analytical background that Jeffrey Luhnow, now the Astros' general manager, and Dan Kantrovitz, now the assistant GM with the Oakland Athletics, brought to the job in previous years.

''From a pure academic standpoint, those guys may have had a little more horsepower,'' Mozeliak said. ''He understands his learning curve.''

Flores earned a master's degree in postsecondary administration/sports administration from Southern California. He's been involved in coaching, scouting, private business and broadcasting since his eight-year playing career ended in 2010.

''For me, he was the right man at the right time,'' Mozeliak said.

Flores founded a company, OnDeck Digital, that processes information to help college evaluators and pro scouts.

''In a lot of ways, that's what we need to do,'' Mozeliak said. ''That's the type of thinking we embrace.''