To be fair, basically every GM in every sport “outright lies” at times when they’re speaking directly to the media. Especially when speculating on possible roster moves/player moves.
Wesneski could very well be more valuable to the Astros this year than Suzuki would have been. With all the panic about our OF, we are one SP injury away from being in a huge bind with SP. The Tucker trade was WAY in favor of the Astros by all signs at this VERY early stage
Eh Many aren’t going to just come out and tell you everything they are about to do But Dana lies just to lie many times, he isn’t like the others But, as long as he keeps killing it on young prospects that others don’t rank as high, who cares
I thought Dana was just a bulls**tter who is trying to set up smokescreens. But he says things that aren't true so often, it's almost pathological. He throws out mistruths that seem to have no reasoning whatsoever. Ultimately if he's elite at identifying talent it won't matter, but it's gotten very annoying. More so than I've personally ever been with a GM for just words.
Tucker's shin was mincemeat for over three months last season, both before and after the trade deadline... AND the team was clinging to contention during his absence. Even if he had been tradeable for a legit return around the deadline, he was needed in THAT lineup, as it was constructed, to have any hope of advancing in the postseason. Sure, they got bounced in the wild card, but hindsight is 20/20. So, when do you suggest they should have traded him? Before last season, with two full seasons of control remaining? Remember, he had put up 5.3-5.5 WAR in 2021-2023 (with inconsistent, if not underwhelming, postseason numbers)... that's a really good player that would get you a solid trade return, but not what you're suggesting. LAST season (2024), when he put up 4.7 WAR in 3 months of play, solidified him as an ELITE player... but, who is going to give up a massive haul in return for a guy that can't even jog at the time? If the 2024 team had not pulled out of their early-season funk, and Tucker had not gotten hurt, then maybe a deadline trade would have yielded a better return, but the circumstances prevented that from happening. As of now, trading him this offseason looks like the best available alternative.
I mean sure he has told lies but the truth is most people are just extra salty because when he got hired one of the first things he said was they were going to extend Tucker and Bregman. Every one in here got all excited. Dana hadn't realized Crane doesn't do long contracts like the Braves were willing to do. All the other "lies" are just people building this narrative that was created from the Bregman and Tucker promise of extensions. I don't care if he lies about injuries or other minor issues. Lying about Tucker made perfect sense. Why tell everyone in the league you are desperate for a bat before the deadline because Tucker cracked the bone in his shin?
Why wait until their is one year left? Because they were balancing maximizing their window with getting value for their players. They did not intend to trade Tucker until the fallout of the Soto deal resulted in several high value offers for Tucker. Dana Brown knew exactly who he wanted and got him - Cam Smith. He also got a starting third baseman under multiple seasons of control to replace Bregman and a depth arm. He wanted a pitcher in the minors for the Cubs - but couldn't get him with Smith and Paredes and ended up getting him as well in the Pressly deal. I personally would rather spend $400,000,000 on several players than on Kyle Tucker - but that is just my personal opinion though. The Astros will miss Tucker - it is possible Smith struggles or never becomes special.... but they also have Paredes in the deal, and he is a well above average third baseman as well..... the Astros got a lot for Tucker.
There is a method to his lies though - if you go back and look in hindsight, there is usually a reason for him saying what he says. Brown is an interesting guy - when he joined the Braves he was very stern and had a temper. He has been for the most part the opposite with the Astros - now that could be because the prior two GM's lost their jobs over people skills. I am guessing that being a scout for decades taught Brown how to mask and also get along with people and read the room well.
Brown had reasons to say that he would extend Tucker and Bregman - that is what his boss said he wanted done, it helped put the players at ease somewhat and the fan base. They did make offers that were not insulting, it just became clear the value that the players saw was beyond the organization. The other lies - like saying the Astros had the pitching depth after the trade deadline, and then the next spring saying he knew they were a pitcher short - doesn't bother me. You don't want your GM saying a team is close but not good enough. His hype of certain prospects only gave those players confidence and helped when they were dealt at the deadline. Same thing when he talked up his relationship with Dusty and also praised Diaz - he kept that situation from blowing up. I am not saying he is a perfect GM. He wanted Espada, and that wasn't great last year. He also didn't push Abreu being released, deciding to support Crane to have him try another few weeks in training. Overall Brown has been fine. The Hader deal was Crane - and Brown has some interesting prospects coming up as well.
You're significantly discounting his contract ending, which impacts the return. Getting two above-average MLB starters *and* an elite prospect for a guy with one year left on his deal isn't realistic, and there was no way the Cubs were going to pay that much. Also, the Astros got a *very* good return, as is. Paredes is 26; has three seasons of control and has posted a 119 OPS+ since '22 - and that includes him inexplicably hitting a wall after he was dealt to Chicago. With Tampa, he posted a .797 OPS and 125 OPS+. If his Cubs tenure was a weird, inexplicable anomaly, the Astros landed a very good, very young, very cheap baseball player. Plus one of the top prospects in all of baseball. And a very useful arm. Other than dealing him prior to '24 season, they were not going to get a better return.
I'd rather a GM be tight lipped than lie to the public. I think there are plenty of GMs in all sports who do a great job without consistently lying in the way Brown does. It's not necessary. And I think there's a difference between puffing ("I love what Diaz is doing", "Our pitching staff has a lot of talent", "Cam Smith is an aircraft carrier") which is not lying, and a lie about what you will do or plan to do. But I don't take exception to any of his actual moves. He's doing a good job in terms of roster management, and it's too early to evaluate most of his prospect decisions. I think we're a bat short, but Dezenzo or Smith might be just what we needed.
We all know Dana wasn't going to extend Tucker and Bregman because those are decisions made by Crane and Boras. I think that was wishful thinking from a new GM that wanted to keep those guys. Gilbert as Nook said was a smoke screen. He thought he wasn't very good so he pumped up his value before trading him. I also don't think he was lying when he said Gilbert had an opportunity to battle for a spot on the roster. The outfield has been wide open for someone to take it since Springer and Brantley left and got hurt. It's not that Meyers and Chas have those spots locked up. Smith or Dezenzo came in this ST and is about to take take one of those spots. I definitely think he isn't forthcoming about injuries but why does he have to be. Doesn't serve the Astros at all to be completely truthful about injuries. Reduces some leverage when doing trades. People will ask you for more when they know you are desperate.
Yeah - there are some front office guys who can be tight lipped and successful. I don't know how much of it is that Crane wants the GM to essentially be the mouthpiece for the organization and how much of it is just the tact Brown has decided to take. Brown is someone that clearly can be manipulative and lie to the media - I will tell you though he is very mild compared to what I got used to hearing from Theo Epstein and his assistant GM's with the Cubs when they were relevant.... he lied about just about everything and even about events he would go to, what ownership said the budget would be, contracts, negotiations, future plans etc. When it comes to Brown I trust what those around the organization say to me and what Brown's actual actions are. I remember hearing when Brown took over the job, he was with a couple of scouts watching Gilbert play the outfield and said to the scout that if he cannot play center, isn't going to steal critical bases and doesn't get on base 40% of the time that he wasn't a long-term fixture. Then Brown publicly praised Gilbert - so I was confused, and it was only after the Verlander deal did Brown admit the truth. Personally I think Brown NEVER should have discussed the limitations of any players - even those traded, but it seems like he cannot help to do so if it justifies a trade.
I don't think he talks about limitations unless they are painfully obvious. Like Whitcomb's future being in the outfield. I also think Brown is being completely transparent with Cam because he actually thinks he's the next big thing for the team. Like when the Rockets have a guy they know they are going to max out and would a take Brink's truck worth of players to pry him from the organization. From my read from Brown so far. He thinks Cam is as close to a sure thing as you can get. He thinks Matthews can be a star if he develops a little. He thinks Dezenzo is a major league player which is why he brought him last season. He also seems to think Melton could be a very valuable if he can get on base, but that is a big if. I'm not going to guess on the pitching side because the staff seems to see stuff that no one else can see. Like Blanco being a starter, JP being viable, and Vanwey being good enough to offer with no pedigree but not quite ready at the moment. I'm also going to give a shout out to you about your insight on Kenny Gomez. No one seemed to talk about him when he was signed, and now everyone seems to be talking about him. You are my Astro's Popeye except you don't post in cryptic messages. I miss Popeye a lot.
I definitely appreciate the insider insight. I would say that, it seems to me, Luhnow and Click didn't feel the need to lie, certainly with the frequency of Brown. I don't know that I can ascribe that behavior to Crane when his former GMs behaved differently.
