Nolan Ryan To Join Houston Astros Front Office

Apr 7, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers ceo

(left) laughs with Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel (right) before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

A deal was expected for quite some time and it appears to now be official. Mark Berman (MyFox26) was the first to report the deal.

Ryan is expected to serve as the team’s Executive Advisor, and will advise Jeff Luhnow, Jim Crane, and Reid Ryan. Here’s what Nolan had to say (to the Houston Chronicle) earlier this offseason when talking about a position with the Astros.

"“It would be a special and totally different than I have dealt with before because it’s on the major league level and an organization that Reid’s president of,” Nolan Ryan said late last month. “And if I could assist him in some way it would be fun and challenging.“But in the baseball side of it, if Jeff and the baseball side of it felt that I could help them and have an influence in the organization that would just be icing on the cake. When you look at the overall baseball organization with my experience it gravitates more to development of a major league club than it does the business side even though I have that experience from my six years in Arlington.”"

Ryan, who just turned 67, resigned as CEO of the Texas Rangers just six months ago, and many speculated the move to the Astros back then. Ryan had said he’d only join the Astros if the position wasn’t so demanding and it seems as if the Astros and Ryan agreed on a good fit for the Hall-Of-Famer. Nolan will join his son, Reid, which was likely a huge part of Ryan’s decision to join the Astros.

Ryan spent nine seasons with the Astros, though he decided to enter the Baseball Hall Of Fame as a member of the Texas Rangers. That move hurt many Astros fans, and it’s likely there are several fans that still dislike Ryan. Whatever the case may be, Ryan has a great track record as a front office member and he will help out an already strong Astros front office for the time being.