“We’re Going to Grind It Out”: Astros GM Dana Brown Vows Trade Deadline Acquisitions Over Selling Spree

A month of mediocre baseball hasn’t deterred Dana Brown, the resolute general manager of the Houston Astros. Despite their underperformance and a roster ravaged by injuries, Brown remains steadfast in his belief that the Astros will be buyers, not sellers, at the upcoming trade deadline.

“I don’t see any scenario where we’re sellers,” Brown had declared before Monday’s series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals—“I think we’re going to be buyers.” But this unwavering stance, however necessary to maintain clubhouse morale, definitely raises questions about the franchise’s long-term future.

Beginning Monday 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the American League West and having won only 14 of their previous 26 games, Brown’s confidence seems to contradict the Astros’ current situation. According to FanGraphs, they have just a 19.9 percent chance of winning the division and a 34.1% chance of securing a wildcard spot in the playoffs.

Later that day, Brown recalled, “I’ve seen teams blow leads from five games up to seven games up in September. In Atlanta when we won the World Series, we didn’t get to .500 until game 100,” echoing his earlier comments on MLB Network. “I don’t foresee us being sellers at all. We’re going to grind it out. I think we’re going to get back to .500 before people know it and we’ll be back in the race.”

Amidst his forecast for the Houston Astros’ June slate against teams with losing records as a turning point, Brown stressed that any one of their poor performances could undo everything; however, while Jim Crane refuses to sell and they lack prospects after years of win-now trades have depleted their farm system, and though they already spend more than any other team up to the threshold where taxes begin being levied on payrolls in excess thereof, there may be no choice but to explore deals involving players such as Alex Bregman, Framber Valdez, Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly, and Justin Verlander.

Dana Brown’s unwavering confidence in the Astros’ potential

Brown said, “We would have to really fall apart for that to happen. The pitching would have to be struggling. The hitters would have to be struggling. If there’s any sign of hope, I can’t see us doing it,” his belief in his team’s potential being more than crystal clear. “Right now, even when you’re losing and the players are still playing well and you’re losing one-run games, two-run games, at some point you feel like it’s going to turn around,” he emphasized when questioned about the potential of selling. “I don’t feel like there’s any scenario where we’re going to be sellers. The team is too good.”

Offensive reinforcements are important—especially the left-handed variety—and so is continuing to look for pitching depth, but Danda Brown has limited optionality given the state of his farm system and payroll; we don’t know if Crane would go over the second competitive balance tax level, but a real opportunity at winning the World Series might nudge him.

Brown did highlight that they “haven’t hit all cylinders yet” and that “the fact that we haven’t hit all cylinders yet tells me a lot… I think we’re going to get hot at some point. I’m not in panic mode. We got 102 games left and I think this team is a really good team.”

The way forward for the Astros is right here, right now—and it’s about their performance. That’s it; this is Dana Brown’s big bet for making good by July 30 or letting it sit in a drawer alongside some far-off memory forever.