When shipping and logistics magnate Jim Crane purchased the Houston Astros for $680 million in 2011, the organization was in dire straits.
Those Astros, still in the National League, still colored brick and black, were coming off a 56-win season. The franchise, in its 50-year history, had zero championships, one pennant and little reason for hope. But Crane, via shrewd hires, strong drafts and good fortune, helped rewrite that story. From 2017 to 2023, Houston enjoyed a Golden Era, capturing two World Series titles and reaching the ALCS in seven straight seasons.
Along the way, a sign-stealing scandal made the Astros villains of the baseball world and precipitated the firings of manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow. But while Houston kept winning in the immediate aftermath — the scandal was revealed in 2020, and they won it all in 2022 — the impact of that fiasco proved lasting in that it convinced Crane to adopt a more hands-on approach.
He parted ways with Luhnow’s successor, James Click, less than a week after the club’s 2022 World Series parade in part because the two butted heads about Crane’s level of involvement. For much of that offseason, Crane led the baseball operations department himself before hiring Dana Brown, then the Braves’ vice president of scouting, to fill the role.
Under Brown, the Astros backtracked, winning just one postseason series the past three years.
On Monday, Crane and the Astros parted ways with Brown, whose contract was set to expire at the end of this season. The exec’s departure at year’s end was a foregone conclusion, one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets. But with the club coming off a disastrous 3-6 homestand and mired in yet another disappointing campaign, Crane saw a window to make a change. The team being tied atop a woeful AL West at 65-66 mattered little, it seems.
Brown’s responsibilities, the team announced in a statement, will be transferred to the club’s three assistant GMs, Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff, as well as Hall of Famer, franchise legend and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell. Crane “will oversee baseball operations through the transition period.” Despite Houston’s mediocre performance this year, postseason baseball remains a distinct possibility. FanGraphs pegs the team’s playoff odds at 47.2% entering play Monday.
While the timing is a tad curious, the news of Brown’s exit is far from shocking. A longtime scout with an impressive pedigree, Brown, 59, simply failed to turn that track record into results during his time with the Astros. Houston’s farm system rated as one of the game’s worst throughout the entirety of Brown’s tenure. Only three players drafted under his leadership (Brice Matthews, Jake Bloss, Ethan Pecko) have appeared in the big leagues.
Brown also oversaw the landmark trade that sent Kyle Tucker to the Cubs for a trio of players. The return from that deal has held serve. Isaac Paredes is a flawed but helpful piece. Cam Smith has tantalized but failed to deliver impact. Hayden Wesneski is competent when healthy. Brown’s free-agent signings have also proved to be a mixed bag. Josh Hader (5 years, $95 million) has been good when healthy. Christian Walker (3/60) has been a disappointment. The same is true of Japanese import Tatsuya Imai (3/54).
But it’s impossible to evaluate Brown without taking into account Crane’s position atop the organizational hierarchy. Because no owner in the sport is more intimately involved in the baseball operations side.
It was Crane who, during the 2022-23 offseason, handed albatross contracts to José Abreu and Rafael Montero. It was Crane who opted to let Alex Bregman leave town. It was Crane who wielded great influence in the two shocking deadline trades that brought back franchise favorites Justin Verlander and Carlos Correa. The owner also reportedly vetoed a deal this deadline that would’ve brought in Twins slugger Trevor Larnach.
Brown is not blameless, and his departure is not undeserved, but the fraying of this organization is quite literally above his paygrade. That is a large part of why the Astros are no longer what they once were.
Every great dynasty comes apart in time. Players age and move on. The sport does, too. But Crane’s overinvolvement has expedited and intensified the speed and scale of Houston’s fall from grace. He once merited great praise for the rise and so must shoulder loud scorn for the fall.
These Astros are Crane’s, for better and for worse.
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