Brad Ausmus expected to land Astros manager job

The Houston Astros went 81-81 this past season, but managed to win the AL West with that record. Still, they would fall in the AL Wild Card series to the Chicago White Sox. After an underwhelming season, the Astros decided to move on from Joe Espada as the manager of the club.

Now, the Astros have decided on who will be the next manager of the squad, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

“Source: Brad Ausmus is flying to Houston tomorrow in anticipation he will be named the next Astros manager,” McTaggart posted on X, formerly Twitter.

MLB insider Joy Heyman confirmed that Ausmus is being hired by the Astros.

Joe Espada went 256-229 in his three seasons, making the playoffs twice, but being swept in the AL Wild Card round both times.

Brad Ausmus comes in with managerial experience. He was the manager of the Detroit Tigers from 2014 through 2017, and then for the Los Angeles Angels in 2019.

Ausmus did not have a great four years with the Tigers. In 2014, he led them to a 90-72 record, winning the AL Central, but they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. The Tigers would then miss the playoffs the next three seasons. Overall, he was 314-332 as the manager of the Tigers.

Ausmus then became a special assistant to Angels GM Billy Eppler in 2018. He was then named the manager of the Angels for the 2019 season. The Halos went 72-90 that year, finishing fourth in the AL West.

Since then, Ausmus has been the bench coach for both the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. The former Tigers manager has experience with Houston. He played for the Astros from 1997 through 1998. He would then spend two seasons with the Tigers as a player before returning in a trade to Houston, playing with the Astros from 2001 through 2008.

Ausmus is not the only new manager in the AL West. The Seattle Mariners recently hired Jason Kanzler to be their new manager.