Astros, Nolan Ryan Have Mutual Interest In Relationship

The Astros and recently retired Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan have both expressed interest in exploring a working relationship, according to multiple reports today. Reid Ryan, the son of the legendary pitcher, is Houston's president of business operations.

Astros owner Jim Crane said today that he was "hoping to talk to Nolan [Ryan] pretty soon," reports Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. "Certainly, we could make room for Nolan," said Crane. "We'll see how that works with the business side and the baseball side." The younger Ryan indicated that he would "love to have my dad work with the Houston Astros," but said he would leave it to his father and Crane to work things out.

Meanwhile, the Hall of Famer Ryan said that he would "look forward to [working with his son] if that turned out to be a doable deal," reports Mark Berman of Houston's FOX 26. Having already retired from his work with the Rangers, Ryan indicated that the Astros were the only club he would realistically be interested in working for.

Of course, none of the reports give any indication of the type of role that Ryan might occupy with the Astros. Reid Ryan is already perched atop the business hierarchy, with the respected Jeff Luhnow running things from the baseball ops side.