Astros owner: We're all ears if Nolan's interested

Published Oct. 17, 2013 5:51 p.m. ET

foxsports

If Nolan Ryan wants to remain in baseball, the obvious destination would be the Houston Astros.

Ryan played part of his Hall of Fame career with the Astros and his son Reid Ryan is the team's president. Ryan also owns the Astros Double-A franchise in Corpus Christi.

Houston owner Jim Crane, who bid against Ryan's group to buy the Rangers in 2010, didn't say anything Thursday to quiet that speculation.

"Certainly he's one of the best-know baseball players in the history of Texas and I don't know his plans for the future," Crane told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. "I wish him the best. We have Reid here, and (Nolan) is certainly welcome as a family member to hang out with us. I like Nolan and at some point if Nolan wanted to do something, we're all ears."

Ryan said Thursday that his immediate plans include spending time on his ranch and playing with his grandchildren. But he didn't rule out a return to baseball.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you what a year from now might bring," Ryan said. "This may be the final chapter of my baseball career. I know that if there was something else I did, it wouldn't be in the role I played here with the Rangers."