The Houston Astros announced Thursday they have hired Dana Brown, previously the Atlanta Braves’ vice president of scouting, as their new general manager, ending a two-month search process after parting ways with James Click.
With the promotion, Brown becomes the only Black general manager in MLB.
Before his four-year tenure as the Braves' head of scouting, Brown worked for the Toronto Blue Jays for nine years as special assistant to the general manager, with earlier stints as the director of scouting for Washington Nationals and as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Brown's time with the Braves saw the team build a reputation as one of the top teams in baseball when it comes to identifying and developing young talent. His first two seasons alone saw the team draft the likes of 2022 NL Rookie of the Year Michael Harris, Rookie of the Year runner-up Spencer Strider and Vaughn Grissom, who also showed promise in limited 2022 action.
The Braves made the playoffs all four seasons with Brown aboard, winning a World Series ring in 2021.
Bringing in a GM with a scouting-heavy resume like that broadcasts a clear message from the Astros, whose owner Jim Crane reportedly chafed at the team's famously analytics-heavy approach even while his team enjoyed a run of success that included two World Series, six straight ALCS appearances and four 100-win seasons.
Of course, it's not like the Astros struggled to find young talent either when they were so data-heavy, but now Brown will be tasked with keeping the team's roster stocked after departures like Carlos Correa, George Springer and, more recently, Justin Verlander.