The Houston Astros named longtime scouting executive Dana Brown their new general manager on Thursday.
The move comes more than two months after the Astros, fresh off their World Series title, opted against bringing back GM James Click, whose contract expired Oct. 31.
Brown spent the past four seasons with the Atlanta Braves as vice president of scouting.
“We are excited to have Dana join our organization,” Astros owner Jim Crane said in a release. “He brings championship-caliber experience to our team and is the right fit for us to continue to deliver a winning franchise on and off the field. We welcome Dana and his family to the Astros family.”
Brown becomes the second Black GM in Astros history (Bob Watson) and is the only current Black GM in baseball. Ken Williams is in charge of baseball operations for the Chicago White Sox, but his title is executive VP while Rick Hahn is GM in that structure.
Brown spent nine seasons with Toronto (2010-18) as special assistant to the GM before joining the Braves. He was also the director of scouting for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals from 2001-09.
USA Today reported that former manager and longtime Astros catcher Brad Ausmus was runner-up for the post.
Click was hired as the Astros’ general manager in January 2020 to replace Jeff Luhnow, who was fired following revelations that the 2017 World Series-winning team engaged in a sign-stealing scheme.
