The Houston Astros have hired Atlanta Braves executive Dana Brown as their new general manager, the team announced Thursday afternoon.
Brown had previously served as the Braves' vice president of scouting, a role that saw him lead Atlanta's amateur drafts. Under Brown's guidance, the Braves drafted several foundational building blocks despite picking later in the first round. That group includes Spencer Strider, Michael Harris II, and Vaughn Grissom. Brown is also believed to have been responsible for signing veteran reliever Tyler Matzek, who was a key member of Atlanta's 2021 title run.
Here's what CBS Sports wrote about Brown last year, when noting that he would be a popular general manager candidate this winter:
The Braves have been one of the better drafting teams in the sport since Brown took over the reins as Atlanta's VP of scouting in 2019. He's unearthed gems like outfielder Michael Harris, starter Spencer Strider, and infielder Vaughn Grissom while also providing Alex Anthopoulos with enough attractive young players to land first baseman Matt Olson and other contributors in trades. It's worth noting that Brown is believed to have been the main person behind the Tyler Matzek signing as well.
"We are excited to have Dana join our organization," Astros owner Jim Crane said in a statement. "He brings championship caliber experience to our team and is the right fit for us to continue to deliver a winning franchise on and off the field. We welcome Dana and his family to the Astros family."
The Astros, of course, parted ways with previous general manager James Click (along with top assistant Scott Powers) following their World Series victory last fall after failing to reach terms on a new contract with him.
Brown has only a few weeks until spring training gets underway, and the Astros roster is mostly constructed anyway. There are a few areas he could look to upgrade upon, including finding a better backup catcher (young Korey Lee is the incumbent there) and perhaps a left-handed reliever to replace free agent Will Smith.
