Astros General Manager Addresses Necessary Mindset Change Required to be Successful

The Houston Astros have had quite the offseason this year, and general manager Dana Brown recently spoke about how he needs to change his approach going forward

Aug 1, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown speaks with media before the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Minute Maid Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have had an extremely interesting offseason in every possible meaning of the word. From trading away Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, to letting Alex Bregman walk, to signing Christian Walker, there have been lots of topics to follow.

General manager Dana Brown has been at the epicenter of these moves, and after only one offseason previously in the role, he decided the 2024 to 2025 one would be much more intriguing. This has left the team in a completely revitalized state when it comes to prospects, but at the cost of letting many players from their original core go.

His previous claim two years ago when he first started the job was that Kyle Tucker would be an Astros player for life, and ultimately that was washed away this offseason with his trade. That move has prompted him to begin to look at things in a different light and begin to think about how he needs to change his approach moving forward. In a recent article by Chandler Rome of The Athletic (subscription required), Brown discusses just this, and how he has had to adapt:

"That’s part of becoming more GM-like — you have to really watch what you say because it means a lot more coming from a general manager than it does (from) a VP of scouting. You learn on the job like any other job, but I do wrestle with (not) being a straight shooter. I would be lying if I said I didn’t. It’s really difficult for me because I’m such a straight shooter and I wear my emotions on my sleeves at times, especially being from the Northeast."

"I kind of knew the business side. I just never had to worry about it. Now, as a GM, you know the baseball side, but you have to worry that everything you do, there’s a business reaction to every move we make and you have to keep that in mind."

This is the difficult part of promotions for many baseball front office members, as going from any other role to general manager is a huge leap, especially if the previous role was not something to the effect of assistant general manager, where they get some experience in how things work. Now Brown has had to alter the way he performs his responsibilities on the job to ensure he keeps things slightly more close to his chest, rather than making his opinions known immediately.

With many moves being made throughout this offseason without any prior warning, reports, or rumors previously, it seems some things have begun to change in that respect. Hopefully over time he will become more accustomed to the role, and be more comfortable making the calls he has to, while also remaining transparent to some degree for the fans.