It's not often a front office move made by the Houston Astros makes headlines at SB Nation New York, but Sunday the club made Tony DeFrancesco, a former player for Seton Hall University, its interim manager. The news came after the Astros fired Brad Mills, who was the franchise's manager for the past 2 1/2 seasons.
DeFrancesco, who was working as the Astros' Triple-A manager in Oklahoma City, is a native of Suffern, NY and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1984 after playing three seasons at Seton Hall. Unfortunately, DeFrancesco never played in the major leagues.
Most of DeFrancesco's coaching career has been spent with the Oakland Athletics organization.
The move by the Astros came after Mills couldn't help a rebuilding franchise steadily improve. Last season, Houston finished with the worst record in baseball (56-106) and, currently, is on pace for almost an identical finish, as they are 39-82.
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