Bo Porter hired to lead Astros rebuilding job from dugout

Over the past few years, Bo Porter has earned the label of someone who might make a great manager one day.

Next year, Porter will get a chance to prove that thought right. After interviewing for the Pirates and Marlins for managing jobs in recent years, the 40-year-old has been hired as the new manager of the Houston Astros. The news was broken by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports late Wednesday night and confirmed in a press conference held by the team on Thursday morning.

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Resurrecting the Astros as they enter American League play in 2013 is going to be a tough challenge for Porter. Not only because the team will be coming off two consecutive 100+ loss seasons, but also because GM Jeff Luhnow and Co. will still be in the middle of a down-to-the-studs renovation as the team transitions into the AL West, which has become one of the toughest divisions in baseball. In those regards, Porter should be a perfect fit as he has enough youth and energy to withstand an extended rebuilding job. This was not a job designed for the Terry Franconas or Tony La Russas of the world.

Porter will have to wait to start the heavy lifting, though. He's currently still the third base coach for the postseason-bound Washington Nationals and will serve in that capacity until that playoff run is over with. Still, the Astros wanted to get this deal signed early. As Jon Heyman of CBS Sports speculates, Porter may not have lasted on the market much longer and the Astros simply took advantage of being the only team with an opening instead of waiting for next week's round of firings to occur.

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