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The Houston Astros have done their best to dispel the longstanding theory that once a team gets to the top, then it’s hard to stay there.
The Astros have played in each of the last seven American League Championship Series, six of them as the AL West champion. Houston has also won four pennants and two World Series in that span.
Even with some taint of the sign-stealing scandal of 2017-18 remaining, it has been a remarkable run for the Astros.
However, there is reason to wonder if the Astros’ run of dominance could be about to end. They were upended by the AL West rival Rangers in seven games in the ALCS this year, and Texas went on to win the World Series.
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Another AL West team, the Seattle Mariners, has won at least 88 games in the last three seasons and could be poised to overtake the Astros.
The Astros had a tough ending to 2023
What caused the ending of the past season to sting for the Houston Astros was they came against the cross-state rival Rangers. Worse, the Astros returned home ahead 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and lost the last two games to end their bid to become the first team to win consecutive World Series since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000 came to an end.
However, Astros general manager Dana Brown bristles at the idea that the rest of the AL West might be catching up. Brown says owner Jim Crane and the rest of the organization believe Houston’s window of contention remains open.
Brown points to the Astros winning 12 of 20 games against the Texas Rangers in 2023, including the ALCS defeat.
“This team is in good shape and very competitive,” Brown told Sportskeeda. “We’re just as good as the Rangers. We just came short. I believe this team can win the division again next year and make another deep run (in the postseason). There is no doubt in my mind.
“I kind of sum up (2023) by saying we had a good team coming in. We had some injuries, but our guys grinded it out and got deep into the postseason. We didn’t win it all again, but it was a good season. I think we’re still as strong as ever.”
It could be a quiet offseason for the Astros as they will have their entire core group of players back in 2024. Five players filed for free agency earlier this month, and all are replaceable: relievers Hector Neris, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek; catcher Martin Maldonado and left fielder Michael Brantley.
Maldonado will be replaced by Yainer Diaz, who hit 23 home runs as a rookie. Brantley is a five-time All-Star but has been limited to 79 games total the last two seasons because of shoulder surgery.
Legendary manager Dusty Baker retired after the ALCS, but Brown believes the Astros will retain continuity by promoting bench coach Joe Espada to replace Baker.
Altuve, Bregman top Houston's wish list
The Astros’ most pressing business between now and the start of next season might be extending the contracts of second baseman Jose Altuve and third baseman Alex Bregman.
Both stars’ contracts expire at the end of the 2024 season, and they are represented by agent Scott Boras, who has long been noted for taking his players to free agency. Altuve will finish a seven-year, $163.5-million deal, and Alex Bregman will be in the last season of a six-year, $100-million contract.
“They are obviously very important parts of the team,” Brown said. “We feel Jose still has a lot left in the tank, and Alex has also been a major part of this organization for a long time.”
The 33-year-old Altuve was limited to 90 games this past season, but the eight-time All-Star hit .311/.393/.522 with 17 home runs and 14 stolen bases. Bregman played in 161 regular-season games and batted .262/.363/.441 while belting 25 homers.
The feeling in industry circles is Altuve is more likely to stay in Houston than Bregman, who is 29 and likely more willing to see what his value may be on the open market.
GM Dana Brown: Long journey completed
This offseason seems to be a lot more normal for the Astros than last.
Despite coming off a World Series title, Crane fired GM James Click just days after the Fall Classic. Crane then ran the baseball operations department until finally hiring Brown on Jan. 26, less than three weeks before the beginning of spring training.
Brown has spent the previous four seasons as the Atlanta Braves vice president of scouting.
“It was everything I thought it would be, maybe a little bit more,” Brown said of moving into a GM role. “One thing that I could say as a GM when you’re responsible for the entire organization, it’s not like just the scouting which I’m used to doing.
“When guys start getting hurt at the major-league level like they did last year, you’ve got to find a way to fill holes right now. The demands of the job are definitely different.”
The personable Brown has long been one of the more well-liked front-office figures in the game. The 56-year-old has also methodically worked his way up the baseball ladder.
Following a three-year playing career in the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor-league system, he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates as an area amateur scout in 1994. He became the Montreal Expos’ scouting director in 2002 and retained that job when the franchise moved to Washington and became the Nationals.
Brown was then a special assistant to the general manager with the Toronto Blue Jays for nine years from 2010-18 before moving to the Braves.
Brown long aspired to be a general manager and was particularly disappointed to lose in his bid for the Mariners’ job following the 2015 season. However, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred gave Brown a pep talk the following season while visiting Toronto.
“(Retired Commissioner) Bud Selig started opening the door for African-Americans to get some interviews, then Rob Manfred told me to stay the course,” Brown said. “When you finally get this kind of opportunity, it’s refreshing. I got a chance to talk to Rob about that once I got the job, and it was pretty rewarding.
“Rob told me that day in Toronto that I had a good interview in Seattle and keep my head up and stay the course. I never forgot that.”
