The Washington Nationals are off and running in their new era.

Led by president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera, the once-archaic organization is now catching up to how other forward-thinking franchises around the league are operating. That has included an influx of technology and analytics, which resulted in the team winning their most games in the regular season (77) since they won the World Series back in 2019 (93).

Speaking of that World Series-winning team, the architect of that roster -- former president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo -- reportedly has his eyes set on a new job.

Mike Rizzo Interviewing for GM Job With Houston Astros

According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, Rizzo is set to interview with the Houston Astros for their open general manager job after they parted ways with Dana Brown before the end of the 2026 campaign in August.

Per the insider, Rizzo "has strong respect for Astros owner Jim Crane" and has "informed friends of his deep desire to work for the Astros."

Of course, the Nationals defeated the Astros in the World Series back in 2019. That was weeks before Houston's cheating scandal was revealed, which has been a stain over that franchise in the years since. However, that is not stopping Rizzo from viewing the open GM job with the Astros as something he would like to have, as the longtime executive reportedly is interested in the payroll he would have to work with under Jim Crane's spending practices.

This isn't the first time that Rizzo has been connected to an open GM job, either. He previously interviewed with the Athletics earlier in the offseason for their open role. But he pulled himself out of the mix, with Nightengale stating that was due to his preference for the Astros' role. Whether Rizzo actually gets hired by Houston will be determined at a later date, but it seems like he could be a real option depending on how everything goes.

While Rizzo's tenure in the nation's capital flamed out towards the end, it's hard to not view what he did with Washington as a success.

Taking over as general manager in March 2009, his teams made the playoff five times in 17 years. Previously, the Montreal Expos/Nationals had only made the postseason once. Rizzo also oversaw four NL East winners over a span of six years from 2012-27, and they won the World Series in 2019.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Rizzo and the Astros. Whether or not he gets hired will be determined at a later date. But it's clear that the 65-year-old has his sights set on getting back into baseball by running a front office at some point again.