NEW YORK – Despite underperforming during a 3-6 road trip against the Mariners, Angels and A’s and parting ways with general manager Dana Brown on Monday, the Astros still have their postseason aspirations very much in their hands.
The club will spend this week in the Big Apple for three games against the Yankees beginning Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, before a series against the Mets at Citi Field this weekend. Houston begins play Tuesday half a game behind the Rangers for first place in the American League West, though the Astros own the head-to-head tiebreaker with a 9-4 advantage in the season series.
According to FanGraphs, the Astros entered Monday with a 38.4 percent chance to win the division, which was better than the Rangers or Mariners, and a 47.1 percent chance to reach the postseason.
Astros manager Joe Espada traveled with the club to New York after missing Sunday’s 7-6 loss to the A’s in Houston while dealing with a family emergency. He will be in the dugout for Tuesday’s series opener against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, a team official said on Monday.
The Astros and Brown mutually agreed to part ways on Monday, but the team remains committed to Espada through at least the end of the season when his three-year contract expires. A source told MLB.com that Espada’s status will be reviewed after the season is over. Brown had served as the Astros GM since Jan. 26, 2023, and was in the last year of his contract.
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In a statement, the team said Brown’s responsibilities will be transitioned to assistant general managers Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell, with owner Jim Crane overseeing baseball operations through the transition period.
Parting ways with a general manager of a first-place team is unusual, but the Astros also didn’t bring back James Click as general manager after he won the World Series in 2022. Crane and Bagwell ran the Astros’ baseball operations during that offseason until Brown was hired a few weeks before Spring Training in 2023.
The disappointing homestand magnified some of the team’s glaring roster issues, with only one starting pitcher working past five innings in nine games and an undermanned offense posting a .677 OPS and averaging 4.1 runs. Houston was outscored 54-37 in the nine games.
The Astros have gone 7-11 since the Trade Deadline, when the club added outfielder Daulton Varsho from the Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Spencer Arrighetti. The Astros tried to acquire more pitching, but Brown said the price was too high. But some in the organization wish the team would have been more aggressive to add another arm and an outfield bat, two areas which remain a huge need.
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The final 31 games will go a long way in not only determining the fate of Espada, but also the coaching staff. All members of the staff are working on expiring contracts.
Five of the Astros’ next six series (16 of the next 19 games) come against teams who are in the playoff chase, which may not be entirely bad news for Houston. The Astros are 19-14 against teams currently with a .500 record or better and 46-52 against teams at or below .500.
In fact, 19 of the Astros’ final 31 games come against teams that are currently either in a postseason spot (16 games) or within two games. That includes nine games against teams currently in first place – White Sox, Rays and Braves, as well as road series at the Yankees and Phillies.
“As far as the schedule getting tougher, good,” first baseman Christian Walker said on Sunday. “You know, let's prep for the postseason. I think we need to handle these last five weeks, this last month and get in the headspace of every at-bat matters, every pitch matters. If we want to win a World Series, and that's the goal, I think we need to use this little bit of a runway to challenge ourselves against really good teams and come through in big moments."
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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THIS WEEK IN ASTROS HISTORY |
Aug. 27, 2007
One day after the Astros retired the No. 5 jersey of Hall of Fame first baseman Jeff Bagwell, the club dismissed general manager Tim Purpura and manager Phil Garner. Garner, hired at midseason in 2004, finished his Houston tenure with a 277-252 record that included two trips to the National League Championship Series and the team’s first World Series berth in 2005. Cecil Cooper served as the Astros’ interim manager for the rest of the season and took over the job full-time in 2008.
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The Astros will have their second Hello Kitty Night of the season when they face the AL Central-division-leading White Sox on Tuesday, Sept. 1. The first 10,000 fans will receive a Hello Kitty plush keychain. Plus, the team’s annual Astros Foundation Charity Game will be Wednesday, Sept. 2, against the White Sox. Fans will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase special edition Charity Game Bags both online and inside the ballpark. Proceeds from the event benefit the Astros Foundation and its priority initiative, Youth Sports and Education.
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