As Dana Brown works through the final year of his current contract as Astros general manager, it’s fair to start evaluating his tenure the same way you would any executive in professional sports.
Create a ledger.
Put the good decisions on one side, the questionable ones on the other, and determine whether the positives outweigh the negatives.
There have certainly been positives.
Perhaps Brown’s biggest success came when the Astros realized they weren’t going to sign Kyle Tucker to the massive long-term contract he was eventually going to command. Rather than allowing another star player to simply walk out the door, Brown acted.
The Astros traded Tucker and received Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski in return.
Whatever you think about losing a player of Tucker’s caliber, Brown deserves credit for recognizing the situation and maximizing the return while he still could. Paredes has become an important piece, Smith has enormous upside, and Wesneski gave the organization another young arm with potential.
Put that one firmly in the win column.
Unfortunately, the other side of Brown’s ledger has become increasingly concerning.
After the Astros allowed Framber Valdez to leave in free agency, Brown suddenly had money available to reshape the pitching staff. Houston brought in six pitchers for the 2026 season.
Three have already been designated for assignment.
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of the organization’s offseason evaluation process.
Then there’s Tatsuya Imai.
At roughly $19 million per season, Imai was supposed to help stabilize the rotation after Valdez’s departure. Instead, his first season in Houston has been an absolute roller coaster.
Between adjusting to Major League Baseball, adapting to a new country and dealing with the cultural challenges that come with pitching in the United States, the transition clearly hasn’t been easy. But eventually, baseball becomes about production.
Imai has been erratic and largely ineffective, and now he’s pitching out of the bullpen.
That creates an even bigger question for the organization: What exactly is the return on that investment going to look like over the remaining years of his contract?
It’s one thing to miss on a short-term acquisition. It’s another when you’re talking about significant money committed for multiple seasons.
Then there’s Mauricio Dubón.
For several years, Dubón was one of the most valuable complementary players on the Astros roster. He could play virtually anywhere on the field, gave the team a professional at-bat, provided Gold Glove-caliber defense and was exactly the kind of versatile player championship teams need.
Yet Houston moved him, in part because of concerns about his salary and the flexibility the Astros believed they needed to add elsewhere.
Fast-forward to today.
The Astros reportedly have approximately $9 million in financial flexibility remaining, while Dubón’s roughly $6 million salary would have fit comfortably within that number.
Considering how inconsistent Houston’s offense has been and how frequently the Astros have searched for answers at multiple positions, wouldn’t Dubón look pretty good on this roster right now?
That brings us to the trade deadline.
For a team that fought its way back from a terrible start and put itself in position to contend for another division championship, the deadline was underwhelming.
The Astros did acquire center fielder Daulton Varsho, but the price was significant: Spencer Arrighetti, a starting pitcher with three additional years of team control.
Meanwhile, Varsho can become a free agent after the season.
Maybe the gamble works.
Maybe Varsho rediscovers the player he was a year ago, becomes a difference-maker down the stretch and helps Houston make another deep postseason run. Maybe he enjoys Houston enough to re-sign and becomes part of the team’s future.
If those things happen, the trade will look considerably better.
But that’s a lot of maybes.
Right now, Houston surrendered years of control over a starting pitcher for a player who could potentially be gone in a matter of months.
That’s not a sure thing.
That’s a gamble.
And when you combine that decision with some of Brown’s other recent moves, it’s fair to wonder whether a general manager working without a contract beyond this season is beginning to feel the pressure.
If Brown truly is fighting to keep his job, then he shouldn’t be finished.
The trade deadline may have passed, but other opportunities have emerged.
Marcell Ozuna, Jorge Soler and Austin Hays are among the veteran bats who could potentially provide more offensive upside than some of the options Houston continues to run into its lineup.
Are any of them perfect solutions?
No.
But we’re well beyond searching for perfect.
We’re searching for better.
If Houston can add a veteran hitter without sacrificing another prospect or young pitcher, why wouldn’t Brown investigate every possible avenue? Wheter his future is yet to be decided or already sealed, finish the job by finishing the year strong. Go for it! It’s in everyone’s best interest, even Brown’s, even if it’s not in Houston next season. This team deseves every opportunity to make a run and finish the season strong.
As always, Astros fans, I want to hear from you.
How do you evaluate the job Dana Brown has done? Have the good moves outweighed the bad ones? And with the trade deadline behind us, what, if anything, should he still do to give this team its best chance to win before it’s too late? Can he save his job?
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