What's next? Astros have key roles to fill

January 14th, 2020

HOUSTON -- A month away from the start of Spring Training, the Astros are without a general manager or field manager. Astros owner Jim Crane fired president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch on Monday after MLB suspended them for their role in the team¡¯s cheating scheme, leaving Houston in a crunch only weeks before pitchers and catchers report.

Crane made the moves in an effort to repair the Astros¡¯ reputation and move forward, which means trying to replace both men in the short term. Pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 12. Crane didn¡¯t give a timetable for making either hire during a news conference on Monday.

¡°We'll quickly look for someone to manage the team,¡± Crane said. ¡°As soon as we get out of here today. Certainly, we have possibilities internally; we'll also look outside. The baseball operation, I will oversee. We have a number of capable guys that can run that operation. A number of them were interviewed for GM spots, one in particular [assistant GM Pete Putila]. And so we'll sit down today and start working on that and move as quickly as we can.¡±

MLB.com¡¯s Mark Feinsand reports that Astros bench coach Joe Espada is the favorite to become interim manager. Espada, who wasn¡¯t with the Astros in ¡¯17, when MLB¡¯s report says the majority of the team¡¯s illegal sign stealing occurred, would make for a smooth transition after working under Hinch for two seasons. Espada, 44, interviewed for a number of managerial jobs in each of the last two years and was a finalist for the Giants¡¯ and Cubs¡¯ jobs this offseason.

¡°Certainly, we have a bench coach that's capable,¡± Crane said. ¡°We'll certainly look outside, but we know we've got to have somebody in charge when we go to Spring Training. That could be interim. I don't have the answer yet, but we'll make it work.¡±

Espada¡¯s ascension into the managerial role would mean the club needs to add another member to its coaching staff to fill the bench-coach role. Likewise, Crane will be trying to find someone to run the Astros¡¯ baseball operations with only weeks to spare before the team hits the field in Florida.

This has been an offseason of turmoil for the Astros.

Luhnow fired assistant GM Brandon Taubman in October after Taubman was proven to have directed profane language toward female reporters in the clubhouse celebration following the Astros¡¯ win over the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. In November, Crane informed president of baseball operations Reid Ryan that Crane¡¯s son, Jared, would be groomed to take over the business side of the club, phasing out Ryan.

The firing of Luhnow leaves special assistant Kevin Goldstein -- one of Luhnow¡¯s closest confidants -- and Putila -- the assistant GM for player development -- as the two highest-ranking members of the front office.

Crane may choose to hire an experienced front-office executive to lead a baseball operations department that Commissioner Rob Manfred said in his report had a problematic culture in its relations with other clubs, the media and external stakeholders.

¡°We've got a short window here,¡± Crane said. ¡°We've got to get ready for Spring Training, Feb. 15 or sooner. We'll work very hard to try to take care of the team first, and then look at the baseball operations. As I said, we've got good leaders in a number of those spots. It's just a matter of organizing and managing that staff for the next 30 days, and hopefully we can get someone in to take the point.¡±

On the field, the Astros¡¯ roster is set for 2020 with most of the core position players returning from the 107-win team that lost in seven games to the Nationals in the 2019 World Series. The club, whose payroll this season will break through the $208 million luxury-tax threshold for the first time, did lose star pitcher Gerrit Cole to the Yankees, reliever Will Harris to the Nationals and catcher Robinson Chirinos to the Rangers.

Still, the Astros are in a good spot, with second baseman Jos¨¦ Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, shortstop Carlos Correa, center fielder George Springer and starting pitchers Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers Jr. returning. Houston should be a favorite to win a fourth consecutive AL West title.

Luhnow signed Altuve to an extension two years ago and inked Bregman and Verlander to extensions last spring. The biggest front-burner item for a new GM will be the contract status of Springer, who is asking for $22.5 million in arbitration while the Astros have countered with a $17.5 million offer. Springer will be a free agent after this season, which means the Astros could risk losing their three-time All-Star center fielder.

Meanwhile, Houston¡¯s farm system -- which was the best in baseball a few years ago -- has been diminished by a series of trades, including deals to acquire Verlander, Cole and Greinke. It will be even harder to replenish that talent on the fly after MLB took away Houston¡¯s first- and second-round picks in the next two MLB Drafts as part of the punishment announced Monday. The Astros will keep the compensation pick they were awarded when Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees.

Crane made a solid hire in bringing Luhnow from the Cardinals in 2011, but his next GM hire will be the most important yet for a franchise seeking a fresh start.

¡°There's a lot of people there and all of them matter and all of them have skill sets,¡± he said. ¡°So, I'm going to evaluate that, see what we have inside, and we'll start looking outside. I think it's a very good job. I think a lot of people would want to come in here and step into that position.¡±

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com