The Astros announced that Brad Ausmus had been hired as manager of the club. Before the official announcement, John Granato of ESPN 97.5 Houston reported that Ausmus would fly to Houston tomorrow to accept the job, a report confirmed by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
Ausmus’ ties to the Astros go back a long way. During his playing career, he spent ten seasons as an Astro. He played for Houston in 1997 and 1998, and again from 2001 to 2008. After playing, he worked as a manager, coach and also worked in the front office.
These various post-playing jobs came with the Padres, Tigers, Angels, Athletics and Yankees, but there were rumors linking him to the Astros along the way. Astros owner Jim Crane purchased the Astros in 2011, after Ausmus retired, but Crane has a close relationship with Jeff Bagwell. Over the years, Bagwell has been a key advisor to Crane regarding club matters. Bagwell played for the Astros from 1991 to 2005 and thus shared a clubhouse with Ausmus for many years.
Since Crane purchased the team, the Astros have changed managers, hiring Bo Porter, AJ Hinch, Dusty Baker and Joe Espada. Ausmus’ name came up often when the position was vacant and he was even connected to the general manager position in Houston several times, but he continued to bounce around to other clubs.
It finally happened that Ausmus returned to the Astros organization. He brings some management experience but not with an extraordinary track record. He was hired to be the bench boss in Detroit before the 2014 season. The Tigers had won the Central three straight years at that time. Ausmus led them to another division title in 2014, but they fell below .500 in 2015. They got back above .500 by winning 86 games in 2016, but missed the playoffs. 2017 turned out to be a dismal season. The Tigers lost 98 games and Ausmus was not brought back afterward.
He was then hired as a special assistant with the Angels for 2018. The Halos named him skipper for the 2019 campaign and signed Ausmus to a three-year contract, but he was fired a year into that pact after the Angels went 72-90. Ausmus has been a bench coach ever since. He held that position for the A’s in 2022, then with the Yankees from 2024 to 2026.
Ausmus joins the Astros because it feels like their dynasty is slipping away. They made the ALCS in seven straight seasons from 2017 to 2023, winning two titles there, but haven’t been back since. They won 88 games in 2024 and clinched a Wild Card berth, but were quickly eliminated by the Tigers. They fell to 87 wins and missed the playoffs last year. The American League West was historically bad this year, allowing the Astros to win the division with just 81 wins, but then they were swept out of the Wild Card round by the White Sox.
Espada’s contract expired after the 2026 season and he was not brought back. The club had also parted ways with general manager Dana Brown. Front office research was the first order of business. Randy Flores was hired for this position a few weeks ago. After that, Albert Pujols, Luis Urueta, Morgan Ensberg and Ausmus were associated with managerial openness.
Houston executives believe Ausmus is the guy who will move the club forward. As he tries to do so, the list appears to be in flux. Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena, Isaac Paredes, Brown Hunter, Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz, Christian Javier And Josh Hader are talented players, but each of these guys is expected to hit free agency after 2027 or 2028. Carlos Correa‘s contract has a convoluted option structure, but 2028 is the final guaranteed year of his deal. Jose Altuve is signed until 2029.
Replacing these players internally will be tricky. Years of competition put the club at the back of the pack for quite a while. They were also penalized in the sign-stealing scandal. As such, their agricultural system is not considered strong at this time.
With potentially many changes on the horizon, the Astros are understandably hoping that Ausmus can fare better in the skipper’s role than he did with the Tigers or Angels. The Yankees, meanwhile, will have to look for a new bench coach.
Photos courtesy of Jamie Sabau, Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images
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