HOUSTON — The Houston Astros have not discussed contract extensions for either general manager Dana Brown or manager Joe Espada, owner Jim Crane said on Monday, leaving their futures uncertain beyond the 2026 season.
“We won’t probably do any extensions now, but I’m not saying that’s an impossibility,” Crane said. “We haven’t talked about it yet. We’ve been focused on getting what we need to compete this next year.”
The futures of both Espada and Brown became murky after Houston ended its eight-year postseason streak with an 87-75 showing during an injury-plagued 2025 season. The outcome did not sit well with Crane, one of the more aggressive owners in the sport.
Still, both Brown and Espada were brought back for the final year of their contracts: a four-year deal Brown signed in 2023 and a three-year contract for Espada that began in 2024.
Presuming neither is extended prior to spring training next month, both Brown and Espada will operate this season as lame duck employees — something not foreign to Crane’s baseball operations staffers.
Former manager Dusty Baker worked two of his four seasons in Houston without a contract for the next season. Brown’s predecessor, James Click, spent the entire 2022 season without a deal for 2023. Crane “parted ways” with Click following Houston’s World Series win in 2022.
In the three seasons since, Brown has overseen two American League West titles and, in 2023, was one win away from capturing the American League pennant. Brown promoted Espada, the team’s longtime bench coach, to succeed Baker following the 2023 season.
Espada has guided the Astros to a 175-148 record during his two seasons in charge. The manager overhauled his offensive coaching staff this winter while Brown made changes to Houston’s much-maligned “return to play policy” in hopes of curtailing the injury concerns that plagued its 2025 season.
Both changes accentuate the aggression with which Houston has approached this pivotal offseason, but on-field results are more likely to determine the future of its baseball brain trust.
“We’ll go through this year like we always do, evaluate and make a decision at the end of the year,” Crane said.