NEW YORK -- Astros owner Jim Crane, speaking to the media for the first time since the club parted ways with general manager Dana Brown on Monday, said on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium that he believes the club needed a change while reiterating no decision will be made on the future of manager Joe Espada until the season is finished.
Crane is still confident that the Astros (65-66) -- who began Tuesday one-half game behind the first-place Rangers in the American League West -- can rally to win the division. And he said the Astros going 3-6 on a homestand against the Mariners, Angels and A’s last week in Houston didn’t factor into the decision to part ways with Brown.
“It was a tough conversation,” Crane said. “They're never easy, and, you know, I think he was disappointed, but he was very professional, and he handled it accordingly.”
Brown, who was hired on Jan. 26, 2023, was in the final year of his contract, along with Espada and the entire coaching staff. Brown’s responsibilities will be transitioned to assistant general managers Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell, with owner Crane overseeing baseball operations through the transition period. Cook and Huff are with the team in New York.
“Out of respect for Dana, we thought that was a time that would give him a little space and to regroup, and he's a great talent,” Crane said. “He's been in the business a long time, and [this will] give him a little more time to get settled and get back to work somewhere else.”
Crane acknowledged injuries to the pitching staff have been a big reason the Astros have underperformed this year. Many of Brown’s preseason pitching acquisitions haven’t worked out, including the signing of Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai and the trade for pitcher Mike Burrows. The Astros were unable to address their need for pitching at the Trade Deadline.
“I think Joe [Espada] is doing what he could do with what he's got, you know?” Crane said. “So you get three or four starters down, you got to really scramble. So he's a good manager. He keeps an eye on things, and I just talked to him, and he's ready to win a game today.”
Crane didn’t provide a timetable on how quickly the Astros would like to hire a new GM, which would be his fourth since he bought the team in 2011. Jeff Luhnow, James Click and Brown were all first-time GMs. Luhnow was let go in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal, and Click wasn’t retained after the club won the World Series in ‘22.
“We'll take our time,” Crane said. “There's not a lot you can do right now when everyone's playing, but we'll look at that at the end of the season. We've got plenty of time to do that.”
Crane could consider Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus, who was a finalist for the GM job before it went to Brown and is a close friend of Bagwell. Guardians assistant GM James Harris and former Giants senior advisor to the president of baseball operations Bobby Evans also interviewed for the job before Brown was hired.
Crane said Tuesday that he values experience.
“We don't have any candidates at this point,” he said “We haven't even started looking. Jeff's in the same role he has always been. He's a senior advisor, and he works with the GMs and myself and assists when necessary.”
Crane has said since the beginning of the season that Espada’s status will be evaluated at the end of the season. He met with Espada in his office at Yankee Stadium prior to Tuesday’s game, a meeting Espada said was positive. Espada also addressed the players and thanked them for their support while he goes through a personal matter that caused him to miss Sunday’s game.
“I wanted the players to know where my heart is,” Espada said. “I really appreciate how the players care about things more than just baseball. This is a group that’s close. I got a lot of great messages with them, and I wanted to share some of my thoughts and I did that.”