HOUSTON — Houston Astros owner Jim Crane is in the overnight business. He made his money as a shipping magnate, bought a baseball team and, for two months, became its de facto general manager. Crane officially took the title on Nov. 11, 2022, the day he “parted ways” with James Click.
The next morning, Crane finished his first contract, rewarding Rafael Montero’s first season of sustained success with a three-year, $34.5 million deal that made him the sport’s fourth-highest paid reliever. At the time, one rival general manager mused it “stalled the market,” problematic for both shipping and, as it turns out, the baseball team Crane tried to construct.
Operating at that breakneck speed isn’t sustainable, even for a logistics mogul. Crane signed Montero and did not hire a general manager for the next nine weeks. In the interim, he teamed with trusted confidant Jeff Bagwell to hand first baseman José Abreu the largest free-agent contract of his ownership tenure, another three-year deal that caused curiosity across the sport.
Bringing back beloved outfielder Michael Brantley on a one-year, $12 million contract concluded Crane’s cameo as a front-office executive. It spanned two months and left an impact his club will feel for the next two years.
“No one bats 1.000 with these contracts,” said Dana Brown, the man tasked with cleaning up his boss’ mess.
Houston’s second-year general manager completed the task on Wednesday morning by designating Montero for assignment. Seven weeks ago, Brown said he spearheaded the decision to release Abreu, to whom Crane still owes $30.8 million.
José Abreu was released in June about halfway through his three-year contract. (Troy Taormina / USA Today)
Neither man made it to the third season of his contract. According to Baseball-Reference, Montero and Abreu accumulated a combined minus-2 wins above replacement after signing Crane’s deals. The owner did not comment on Wednesday afternoon, again leaving Brown to answer for a mistake he did not make, but still must remedy.
“It was our hope that both of these guys would be really good,” Brown said. “There’s a reason they were signed to these contracts. You don’t get these contracts for not being a good player or a good pitcher. The hope was for them to perform and everything would be smooth. With the lack of performance, we have to put the team and the organization first.”
Removing both men from the major-league roster illustrates the urgency with which Brown is operating — and, perhaps, the freedom Crane is giving him to overhaul a roster the owner himself helped to handcuff. Whether the disastrous returns on Abreu and Montero’s contracts will lessen Crane’s influence in baseball operations decisions is a legitimate question, but cutting ties with both players does demonstrate Brown’s ability to convey what is best for the club’s championship aspirations.
That Brown has convinced Crane to eat almost $45 million within a month and a half is a sign of his mettle. Brown presented both departures with the tact and respect two veteran players deserve, even spending most of Tuesday explaining how Montero could factor into the team’s stretch run should he remain in the organization. In a business that can be unforgiving — and that has sometimes lost human feel in Houston — that shouldn’t be overlooked.
“We’re going to continue to do what we have to do to make this team better,” Brown said. “I’ve had conversations with Jim on anything that I do with this organization. I always keep him up to date. I had conversations with him and said, ‘Look, I think this is better for the club and we really feel like we have a chance of him going down and coming back.’ So that was the gist of it.”
Brown attempted to offload Montero’s contract before Tuesday’s trade deadline, multiple people familiar with the Astros’ thinking said. To little surprise, no team would absorb it.
The Astros awoke on Wednesday out of a playoff spot with 55 games remaining. Continuing to carry dead weight is impossible.
“In order to get this team where we need to be, we need to make sure that we tighten up everything,” Brown said. “That was one of the areas where we felt like he’s not pitching up to his capabilities, we know he’s better than that. If we can get him to accept this assignment then possibly he could come back and make an impact and give us some hope down the stretch out of the bullpen.”
Montero is owed the remainder of his $11.5 million salary this season and the full amount in 2025. Houston has seven days to either trade Montero or pass him through outright waivers, where any team that claims him is responsible for his entire contract.
If no team would take Montero’s contract in a trade, it’s difficult to envision any would claim it on waivers. If and when Montero clears, Brown is hopeful the 33-year-old right-hander will accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Sugar Land.
According to Brown and manager Joe Espada, Montero seemed amenable to the idea, but needed to speak with his agent and family before making any final decisions. Even if Montero does accept the assignment, it’s difficult to envision him ever ascending into leverage innings this season — a bare minimum expectation for a man making more money than all but eight major-league relievers.
Montero appeared in just eight of Houston’s first 24 games in July, morphing into nothing more than a mop-up reliever for a bullpen in need of more veteran depth. On Tuesday, the team acquired some in southpaw Caleb Ferguson, who took Montero’s spot on the active roster upon reporting to the club on Wednesday.
During the 38 1/3 innings he did throw, Montero walked 4.5 batters per nine and sported a 1.409 WHIP. A 6.39 FIP suggests his 4.70 ERA should’ve been higher. Coaches believed Montero became too predictable with his pitch sequencing, opting to throw his sinker in spots where using a secondary or breaking pitch would’ve been better.
“Sometimes at the major-league level when something doesn’t go your way, you’re always going to go to what’s more comfortable for you. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best pitch to throw at the time,” Espada said.
“At the minor leagues, you have a little bit more freedom to go and try new things. That’s what we encouraged Montero to do if he clears waivers and accepts the assignment. It’s more pitch usage than anything. He’s healthy. His stuff is really good. We just need him to build some confidence.”
That won’t happen overnight.
(Top photo of Rafael Montero: Erik Williams / USA Today)
