DALLAS â On the day he dealt his best player, Dana Brown delivered a promise to those peeved and perplexed, those confused by the kind of trade the Houston Astros rarely make and those concerned about a championship window theyâve been promised will never close. Trading Kyle Tucker does nothing to widen it, but Brown believes in the long haul.
âMake no mistake, weâre still going to compete,â Brown said Friday afternoon. âThis is probably one of those moves that, in the future, people will see and understand like, âYeah, wow, I understand it now. I get it.ââ
Patience is at a premium in society or sport, so Brownâs words will fall on deaf ears. A franchise that prioritized pennants to prospects authored an about-face on Friday, thrusting the Astros into a conversation theyâve never had and an echelon theyâve long tried to avoid.
Eight consecutive seasons of pushing all in precipitated a crossroads that Brown began to confront this week at the Winter Meetings. Discussions about significant trades began shortly after the season, Brown said, but acknowledging on Monday night the Astros would âlisten on anybodyâ started a feeding frenzy among desperate teams with deep farm systems.
What transpired will define Brownâs tenure as Houstonâs general manager. Trading Tucker is a logical decision. He will command at least $400 million next winter in free agency â a sum the Astros would never have paid him. Still, moving him is the antithesis of how the Astros have conducted business during their decade of dominance.
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It runs counter to much of Brownâs braggadocio upon taking this job two years ago, a period in which he promised a plethora of contract extensions and told owner Jim Crane to âfasten your seat belt, because itâs time.â Brown once had enough confidence to convince the baseball world Tucker would never leave, even if nothing in Craneâs past suggested it was realistic.
Two years later, Brown held enough conviction to trade him away. Whether that should cause alarm for the teamâs other young players, be it budding ace Hunter Brown, dynamite setup man Bryan Abreu or reliable shortstop Jeremy Peña, is a legitimate question.
âWeâre still going to be in the business of trying to extend guys if we feel like we can extend them and if it makes sense for the organization,â Dana Brown said.
âI donât think it sends the wrong message. These types of things happen in sports enough that you know sometimes clubs will make a trade with one of their big chips and try to bring in more to reinforce and sustain long-term winning.â
That Brown even convinced Crane to execute this plan is another example of the trust heâs built with an owner who can be difficult to work under. Craneâs frayed relationship with James Click is the reason Brown is even here in the first place.
Thank you for everything, King Tuck. Best of luck in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/VCgimxrf8Z
â Houston Astros (@astros) December 13, 2024
Brown may have formed a far better rapport, but even that may not change Craneâs aversion to massive contracts or his wariness of the luxury tax. Brown was adamant on Friday that âfinances had nothing to do withâ the team trading Tucker, but moving him frees at least another $15 million from a payroll bloated by Craneâs brief cameo as general manager.
Cotâs Contracts approximates Houston is now $23.5 million under the first luxury tax threshold without Tucker. The team remains in search of a reliever, starter and a left-handed-hitting outfielder to fill the vacancy Tucker leaves behind.
âWe definitely have our eyes set on improving the offense. That can certainly happen over the next week or so,â Brown said. âWeâve said from the outset we wouldnât take anything off the table. If there is some type of opportunity where we feel like we can continue to keep this 2025 club strong and get even stronger in the future, weâll listen.â
Few moves in the clubâs modern history are more fascinating than this one. The Astros had not parted with a reigning All-Star player since Ed Wade dealt Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence within two days during the 2011 season. They resisted offloading Carlos Correa or George Springer or Alex Bregman before they tested free agency, appearing all right with receiving a compensatory pick and nothing more.
Itâs apparent the club can no longer afford such a setup. The Astrosâ farm system had fallen so far that it needed immediate action to address it. Infielder Cam Smith, the centerpiece of Houstonâs return for Tucker, will immediately become the organizationâs best prospect â a low bar to clear, but notable nonetheless. On Friday, Brown called him an âimpact bat with power.â
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âHeâs got a chance to play third, first or right,â Brown said. âWeâre probably going to play him in all three of those positions, and if his bat comes really quickly, weâll move him quickly. Whichever position heâs playing the best, weâll put him in that position as he moves up.â
Smith is the type of high-end prospect this farm system sorely needed, but this era of Astros baseball is not about propping up good prospects. Postseason runs are the standard, not putting all hope in prospects. Brown displayed it during Augustâs trade deadline, parting with three prospects for two months of Yusei Kikuchi â a once-derided trade that paid dividends during Houstonâs run to an American League West title.
Brownâs latest decision is just as daring, one he and his lieutenants believe can keep the 2025 team competitive while enhancing the future. Theyâre giddy over three more years of Isaac Paredes, whose pull power is perfect for a ballpark with a short left-field porch. They hope a homecoming from Houston native Hayden Wesneski will unlock the potential he always showed as a back-end starter.
Faith in all of that feels founded. Brown must hope it manifests.
âItâs tough in that first year to stomach because Kyle Tucker has had such a great career here, heâs such an outstanding player and played on some really good teams, won a championship,â Brown said. âAll that can be true at one time. I would say this is more to strengthen our opportunities down the road without losing any footage in the current year.â
(Photo: Michael Wyke / Associated Press)