Brad Ausmus Appointed As New Houston Astros Manager

Return To Houston

The Houston Astros are bringing back a familiar face to lead the team. Brad Ausmus has been appointed as the new manager of the franchise.

Ausmus is 57 years old and spent a major portion of his playing career in Houston. He played 10 of his 18 seasons in Major League Baseball for the team. He takes over the job after working as the bench coach for the New York Yankees.

Managerial History And Replacement

This is not the first managerial role for Ausmus. He previously managed the Detroit Tigers from 2014 to 2017 and spent the 2019 season with the Los Angeles Angels.

Across those stints, he built a career record of 386-422. New general manager Randy Flores led the search, which included an interview with Albert Pujos.

Ausmus replaces Joe Espada. Espada left after his contract was not renewed when the team was swept by the Chicago White Sox in the wild card series.

Unique Playoff Qualifying Season

Houston faced a strange path to the postseason this year. The team finished with an 81-81 record, yet still won the American League West for the fifth time in six years.

They became the first big league club without a winning record to make the playoffs in a full season. This followed a 2025 campaign where they failed to qualify for the postseason entirely.

Individual Highs And Injury Problems

Despite overall team difficulties, slugger Yordan Alvarez put up strong numbers. He flirted with the AL Triple Crown, eventually winning the batting title with a .316 average. He also finished fourth in home runs with 42 and fifth in RBI with 106.

Injuries hurt the squad throughout the year. Star infielder Carlos Correa did not play after May 4, while Jeremy Pena endured multiple stints on the injured list. Ace Hunter Brown missed more than three months, and All-Star closer Josh Hader delayed his debut until June 3.