Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
USA Today's Bob Nightengale is reporting that the Astros have reached an agreement with Dusty Baker to be the new manager of the Astros.
The Houston #Astros and Dusty Baker have reached agreement on a short-term deal to become their new manager
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 29, 2020
Nightengale reported on Tuesday that Baker would be the Astros next manager, and now The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal has confirmed the report.
Here’s Bob confirming one year and a club option for Baker. Possible #Astros also go short-term with GM and reassess at season’s end. https://t.co/fvtm60p3pl
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 29, 2020
For more thoughts on how the hiring of Dusty Baker will impact the Astros, be sure to check out Chris Campise's article here on SportsMap.
Now that Houston has hired their manager, they can focus on hiring a GM to replace Jeff Luhnow. Peter Woodfork, MLB's vice president of baseball operations, and former San Francisco Giants GM Bobby Evans are both in contention for the position.
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It's no secret to Astros fans that offensive production has been almost nonexistent in Houston's outfield for most of the season. Outside of games in which Yordan Alvarez plays left field, the Astros have struggled to get anything going.
That's why the return of Kyle Tucker is so important for the 'Stros. Going into Monday's game against the Phillies, here are the batting averages for three of the outfield options over the last 30 days.
Jake Meyers is hitting .198, Mauricio Dubon .176, and Chas McCormick is sitting at .111.
Which is why we've seen the club add Ben Gamel recently, who's actually done a decent job with his limited opportunities.
Clearly the front office isn't satisfied with the outfield group, as MLB.com's Brian McTaggart is reporting that the Astros are close to signing left-handed veteran outfielder, Jason Heyward.
Source: Astros are close to signing OF Jason Heyward, who was released by the Dodgers.
Heyward, 35, slashed .208/.289/.393 with six homers and 28 RBIs in 63 games with L.A.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 27, 2024
McTaggart shared some of his numbers in the post below.
Heyward hit .208 with six homers and a .682 OPS in 63 games with Los Angeles this season and also dealt with injuries that limited his availability. That followed a 2023 season in which he enjoyed somewhat of a career rebound, hitting .269 with 15 homers and an .813 OPS after…
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 27, 2024
Let's just hope this signing has nothing to do with the Astros' optimism about Tucker returning fully healthy this season.