There is a new skipper in Houston, as the Astros have named Brad Ausmus as their next manager. This is not the first time he has been in the Astros organization. He was traded to the Astros during the 1996 offseason and spent two seasons with the club. Ausmus returned to Houston in the 2000 offseason and played there from 2001 to 2008. Now he will be tasked with taking over an Astros team that is in a transition phase. He will need to focus on developing and maximizing a weaker roster. But does Ausmus have what it takes to bring the Astros back to relevance?
Did the Astros make the right choice hiring Brad Ausmus?
Since retiring as a player, Ausmus has focused on coaching. In 2014, he was hired as the Detroit Tigers’ manager and found immediate success. In his first season, he led the Tigers to a 90-72 record and won the AL Central. Although they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS, there was a lot of optimism about his tenure. But 2014 turned out to be the high point of his tenure. Over the next three seasons, the Tigers went 224-260 and never returned to the playoffs. He was fired after posting a 64-98 record.
He did get another chance to manage when the Los Angeles Angels named him manager for the 2019 season. The hope was that he could get the team back over .500 for the first time since 2015. But that didn’t happen: they went 72-90, their lowest win total since 1999, and he lost his job. He would not get another coaching job until the 2023 season, when he was named the Athletics bench coach. After one season, he left and took the same position with the New York Yankees, where he’s been ever since.
Bringing in someone with MLB experience is always a benefit. There will not be concerns that he can not handle it or that he will need an adjustment period to learn the job. Sure, he did underperform with the talent he had around him. But we have seen plenty of managers struggle in their first few jobs, then find sustained success on their second or third go around. This could be the case with Ausmus. He learned from the mistakes he made in Detroit and Los Angeles and was able to replicate his 2014 success.
There is also concern about the relationship between Ausmus and Jeff Bagwell. These two are close friends, and Bagwell played a pivotal role during the hiring process. This is another example of Jim Crane allowing Bagwell to influence baseball operations. Ausmus was hired only because of his connection to Bagwell, not because he was the best man for the job. It could be a decision that sets this team back for years. It also makes everyone question how much power new general manager Randy Flores has.
While the Ausmus hiring is a bit questionable at this point, we will not know until the season starts. It could either help the Astros’ contention re-open or force them into a long rebuild.
