3 pressing questions facing new Astros general manager Dana Brown

© Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

Dana Brown begins his tenure as Astros general manager with one open spot on the 40-man roster. 

A 33-year wait ended Thursday, but Dana Brown began his reign as a general manager in earnest Monday, when pomp and circumstance subsided and the 55-year-old started his first week running the Astros. 

Pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 15, and the first full-squad workout is nine days later. Brown has until then to meet his staff, start to understand the infrastructure and — perhaps most importantly — discover where he can enact change, even if it’s nothing drastic. 

Here are three questions for Brown as he starts his tenure:

Will the front office stay intact?

This answer won’t arrive soon. Brown acknowledged Thursday he never spoke to any of Houston’s existing front-office members during his interview process. Meeting them is a prudent first course of action.

Assistant general managers Bill Firkus, Charles Cook and Andrew Ball attended Brown’s introductory news conference Thursday, as did player development director Sara Goodrum, amateur scouting director Kris Gross, and international scouting director Brian Rodgers. It stands to reason Brown will spend most of his first week receiving more formal introductions. 

Their absence from Brown’s interview process is unsurprising, especially when considering the power dynamics currently in place. Brown said he spoke to Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Reggie Jackson — two of owner Jim Crane’s most influential sounding boards — before accepting the job. Bagwell wielded heavy influence during the two months Houston operated without a general manager.

Whether Bagwell will retreat with Brown in place is unknown. The calendar might not allow Brown much time for a front-office overhaul or shakeup. Pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in less than three weeks. Amateur baseball seasons start around the same time, too, a crucial time for scouting staffs. Teams around the league might be reluctant to lose key staffers around this time and might prevent departures or deny interview requests.

It might behoove Brown to stick with Houston’s current setup, if only to ease his immediate transition to the organization. Click operated this way, hiring Goodrum, Ball, former assistant general manager Scott Powers and a bevy of amateur scouts during his second offseason in charge. 

Is the major league roster complete?

Bagwell and Crane finished all of the Astros’ consequential offseason moves before Brown’s arrival. Houston has one open spot on its 40-man roster, but its most notable offseason moves already have been completed. 

Manager Dusty Baker will always beg for a lefthanded reliever, even though his returning group of righthanders neutralized lefties without issue last season. The Astros already added veteran southpaw Austin Davis on a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training, injecting some experience alongside returning options Parker Mushinski and Blake Taylor.  

If the Astros do make another move, adding a veteran to the bench makes the most logical sense. Baker and some members of his coaching staff have advocated for free agent Chad Pinder, multiple people familiar with the situation said.

Pinder has a career .788 OPS against lefthanded pitching and some sustained success inside Minute Maid Park. The longtime Oakland A’s utility man is slashing .295/.350/.588 in 103 career plate appearances at Minute Maid Park. He could provide coverage at both middle infield spots and see time in left field, where the team might have to be cautious with Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez.

Adding Pinder — or someone of his ilk — would limit the team’s roster flexibility. Pinder has no minor league options remaining. Nor does Mauricio Dubón. The team might feel more comfortable with a bench of Dubón, David Hensley, Jake Meyers and either Korey Lee or Yainer Diaz. Both Diaz and Lee have minor league options, as do Hensley and Meyers, affording the team room to tinker in the event of underperformance.

Looming over all discussion is Yuli Gurriel, the fan-favorite first baseman still without a home. Talks between Gurriel and the Miami Marlins have cooled, according to multiple reports, leaving a reunion with the Astros as a possibility. The Minnesota Twins, with Carlos Correa and Christian Vázquez in tow, are thought to be another possible landing spot.

Gurriel is 39 years old and fresh off the worst 162-game season of his major league career. His postseason resurgence should not overshadow a below-average, 146-game sample size in the regular season.

Analyzing Gurriel’s fit in Houston requires logic. Sentimentality says sign him tomorrow, but business and production must override feelings. José Abreu is the Astros’ new everyday first baseman, meaning Gurriel would have to accept a part-time or utility role. At 39, with some reduced bat speed and almost all of his recent time at first base, it’s worth wondering if he’s the best option to fulfill it.

What, if anything, needs to be fixed?

Brown is entering an organization seeking its seventh consecutive trip to the American League Championship Series and third straight World Series appearance. Most general managers inherit a mess. He’s entering the furthest thing from it. 

“It’s tough to say that there’s something missing when you win the World Series,” Brown said Thursday.

Brown isn’t here because Click failed to produce or sustain a dynastic run at the major league level. He’s here after Click and Crane grew apart and could not coexist. Brown’s foremost priority should be to build and maintain a strong relationship with Crane, who told the Chronicle’s Jerome Solomon on Thursday that  “I push pretty hard, but I lead by example.”

“I don’t think I’m hard to work for,” Crane said. “I’m fair. I want everybody to do well that works for me.”

On Thursday, Brown said all the right things about analytics and blending his old-school upbringing with the advancement of technology and data. Houston’s analytic processes are sound, and Crane has continued to invest resources into them. It might not be how Brown was brought up in the game, but it’s a style he’s found a way to embrace. 

Brown’s deep background in player evaluation and scouting suggests he might make his imprint on replenishing a farm system without much top-level talent. Though Houston has enjoyed success from late-round draft picks and cheap international signees, eventually it will require another wave of elite prospects to take a more prominent role. Entering spring training, Hunter Brown is the team’s only consensus Top 100 prospect. 

The Astros’ farm system ended last season ranked 29th by MLB Pipeline and 26th by Baseball America. Losing first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 was an obvious hindrance, but some misses prior to that are glaring. Brown now inherits a club with a full complement of picks and a chance for him to infuse talent.