Brown wasn't hired until late January, by which point the bulk of Houston's offseason business had already been handled. Recall that the Astros spent the bulk of last winter without a traditional exec heading their front office, having parted ways with GM James Click shortly after raising the 2022 World Series trophy.
What kind of general manager is Dana Brown? Here are the five biggest questions for the Astros this winter:ġ. But there is work to do, and the competition is fiercer than ever. That's not to say Houston's roster, even as currently constituted, still doesn't stack up well. The champion Texas Rangers have surged right up alongside the Astros - if not clear on past them - in the divisional hierarchy. As a result, they entered this offseason in unfamiliar territory in that for the first time in this era of Astros excellence, Houston no longer stands out as the obvious default favorite in the AL West. The Houston Astros, who have made trips to the ALCS an annual tradition for the better part of a decade, are not most franchises.įor them, losing before the World Series this past October - to their in-state rivals, no less - was an especially tough pill to swallow. Reaching Game 7 of the League Championship Series would be considered a smashing success of a season for most franchises.
