Dana Brown built the Astros’ division-winning roster, then was fired before celebrating it. Parting ways with Brown while the Astros were sitting atop the AL West raised plenty of eyebrows. Though the Astros announced a mutual parting, the timing raised questions about Crane’s decision-making. Now, with Houston celebrating its postseason berth, the questions have only grown louder.
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The Astros had dropped six of their previous eight games when Brown was let go, with the franchise saying he and the team had mutually agreed to part ways. But for former MLB general manager Jim Bowden, the explanation did little to settle the matter. As the Astros popped champagne to celebrate another playoff berth, Bowden had some pointed words for Crane, and he didn’t hold back.
“There are owners, though, that are irrational, that really don’t understand. I’m not gonna point out Jim Crane in Houston, but you sit there, and you tell your GM, ‘You can’t spend money on pitching. We can’t keep Bregman, we can’t keep Tucker, so do your job.’ So he goes and gets Paredes and Walker. They combine for 50 home runs, which is difficult to do, and then Cam Smith adds another 20. Those are the three guys that kind of replaced Bregman and Tucker, and he actually did it for a lot less money and a lot more difficult moving pieces, and then he gets fired,” Bowden said via Foul Territory.
Brown building this core to replace Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker was considered a very impressive move. To fill the remaining void, Brown signed the veteran slugger Christian Walker, who was a free agent, on a three-year, $60 million contract.
“When August begins and doesn’t even get to pop champagne and celebrate when they win the division with the team that he built,” he added. “…I don’t know what you do with those kinds of people except, as a GM, you don’t work for them.”
The Astros traded their star right fielder, Kyle Tucker, to the Chicago Cubs. In return, they acquired a multi-player package centered around All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes (along with pitcher Hayden Wesneski and prospect Cam Smith). In addition, after contract negotiations stalled with long-time third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency, the Astros pivoted and signed Christian Walker.
Paredes has scored 25 homers so far, and Walker has scored 29 homers. Hence, both of Brown’s acquisitions performed on the field. Still, the split came despite their on-field success.
“Over the past four seasons, Dana has helped our organization win two division titles and has led our baseball front office through key scouting, Draft, and development efforts,” Crane said in a statement. “On behalf of the Astros, I want to thank him for his commitment, energy, and contributions to our organization. We wish him and his family the best.”
Crane didn’t stop there.
“We’ve always said we’re here to win and we’re here to make the playoffs and make a deep run in the playoffs, and we’ve done that consistently,” Crane said. “So getting in the playoffs is a big deal. If you don’t, you don’t have a chance.”
After Brown, Astros’ manager Joe Espada’s job will also be determined by how deep the team can go in the postseason.
Per Bowden, it’s confusing about Crane’s objective. While winning the World Series will certainly be the ultimate goal, Crane’s willingness to fire successful executives could backfire in the front office.