Astros Will Retain General Manager, Manager After Missing Playoffs

Houston is coming off its first postseason miss in almost a decade.

Joe Espada will be back in 2026. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

For almost a decade, the Astros ruled the American League. If they weren't dominating their competition on the field to the tune of four pennants in seven years, they were invariably dominating chatter off of it—for good or for ill.

In 2025, that came to a screeching halt. Houston missed the playoffs altogether for the first time since 2016, drummed out by the Guardians on the season's penultimate day. They finished three games behind the Mariners in the American League West, yielding control of that division for the first time since 2020.

Questions swirled around the fate of general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada after the season, but according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, neither of them are going anywhere.

"Astros GM Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada are both under contract for next year and will return in 2026," McTaggart wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. "Any speculation about their futures can be put to rest."

Brown has worked as the team's general manager since 2023, while Espada is entering his third year with the franchise carrying a record of 175–148.

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