NEW YORK — Astros owner Jim Crane said Joe Espada will manage the Houston Astros for the remainder of the season, a day after the club parted ways with general manager Dana Brown. The decision involving Brown, whose contract was due to expire at season’s end, was described by the team as mutual. Astros owner Jim Crane added that he will oversee baseball operations during the transition.
Before opening a three-game set against the Yankees, Houston announced that senior adviser Jeff Bagwell and assistant general managers Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff will assume Brown’s responsibilities. Crane will supervise the department while the club evaluates next steps.
Astros owner Jim Crane outlines transition
“There’s no good time for any of that when you let someone go,” Crane said outside the Houston clubhouse. He added that acting ahead of the season’s end would give Brown “a little space to regroup.” Crane praised Brown as “a great talent” with a long track record in the sport.
Brown, hired in January 2023, succeeded James Click, who was dismissed six days after Houston captured its second World Series title. Under Brown, the Astros extended their run of deep postseason appearances, reaching a seventh consecutive American League Championship Series before falling in seven games to the Texas Rangers.
Houston then lost a wild-card series to Detroit in 2024 and last season missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, finishing three games behind Seattle in the AL West and losing a tiebreaker with the Tigers for the final wild-card berth.
Manager Joe Espada, who was promoted from bench coach after Dusty Baker retired, said he spoke with Brown following the move. “He gave me the opportunity to be manager of this team,” Espada said, calling the conversation emotional and expressing gratitude for their working relationship.
Crane said expectations remain unchanged. “That’s a good run. We hope to keep that going,” he said of the club’s recent postseason history. He noted last year’s miss but emphasized the goal of reaching the playoffs every season.
Season context and Espada’s status
Houston opened this year 20-31 but was only 5 1/2 games out of first in a soft AL West on May 20. The Astros then won 40 of their next 66, including a 6-3 victory over San Diego on Aug. 7, to reach 65-66.
They entered Tuesday having dropped nine of 14, including four losses to the Angels and A’s. Crane said the recent skid did not factor into the decision on Brown. “That didn’t have anything to do with it,” he said, adding the club remains focused on winning the division and the AL.
Espada helped the Astros rebound from a 12-24 start to claim their seventh AL West title in eight seasons in 2024 and began Tuesday with a 240-214 managerial record. Crane reiterated that Espada’s status has been consistent all year. “We told him we’d deal with that at the end of the season and we’ve never changed that answer all year long,” Crane said.
Crane met with Espada before addressing reporters for roughly 10 minutes. Espada said the message was straightforward. “Focus on winning today,” he said. “My responsibility is to lead this team. We have a very important stretch of games here.”