The Houston Astros’ decision to part with their general manager has already raised a lot of questions regarding the franchise’s next steps. But it goes way beyond the contributions made by Dana Brown. And one MLB analyst believes that the franchise’s decline shouldn’t be put on the person who just lost the job. And he warns that the thinning roster and farm system make it more difficult for the next person in charge.
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“I haven’t been in that position. And I would never want Dana’s job as far as where he was at,” Jeremy Booth said in a recent KHOU 11 podcast, according to Jason Bristol. “And guess what? It’s been called the worst GM job in the league except for Anaheim.”
The Astros announced Monday that the franchise and Dana Brown have mutually agreed to part ways with 31 games remaining in this season. Brown took over as GM in January 2023 following James Click’s departure after the World Series win in 2022. But the analyst argues that he had to follow the previously laid paths instead of making his own journey.
For example, he inherited the contracts of José Abreu and Rafael Montero. And each of them was originally signed under Jim Crane’s leadership (baseball operations after Click’s exit). Those contracts became financial burdens for the club, and Brown couldn’t go for big acquisitions. The very people who created the troubling situations still have their jobs while Brown doesn’t.
“They have Jim Crane. They have Jeff Bagwell. That’s the same people that made the decisions that started this era with Abreu and Montero, this little window that Dana was just in. And that’s who made the decision,” the analyst reiterated. “That’s who made the decision to fire James Click. And they’re left on the backside with Jeff Bagwell, Jim Crane, Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey.”
He said that Dana Brown was actually handcuffed while people like Bagwell and Crane, among others, made the decisions. And he sharply criticized the franchise for forcing a World Series-winning GM like Click out of the organization. For him, they put Brown in an “unwinnable position”.
The Houston Astros are currently 65-66, second in the AL West. They are just 0.5 games behind the last American League Wild Card spot. But a deeper look makes more sense of the criticism from Booth.
According to reports from The Athletic, the depth in their major league roster and the upper minors has shown some significant decline. Some reports even term their farm system as the worst in MLB. And several of their key players are on the injured list without a specific timeline for a return. Notably, the front office is heavily relying on an aging core including José Altuve, Christian Walker, and Josh Hader, among others.
That’s why the analyst argues that the next person with Brown’s job won’t have it any easier. Meanwhile, their manager, Joe Espada, will continue till the end of the season. But the franchise has made certain there will be no extension for him. The Astros will continue to hustle for the postseason amid all the uncertainties and the newly formed questions regarding their latest decision.