Everything You Need to Know About New Astros Manager Brad Ausmus

The Houston Astros announced late Wednesday morning that they have officially welcomed Brad Ausmus back to the organization, but this time as their manager.

Ausmus will be officially introduced as the Astros’ new manager during a press conference at Daikin Park on Friday.

Here is a look at everything you need to know about the Astros’ new manager.

Ausmus, 57, is coming in to replace Joe Espada, whose contract was not renewed following three seasons and two division titles. 

This is not the first time Ausmus was a part of the Astros organization. Ausmus is a former Astro himself. He played parts of 10 seasons with Houston across two stints, and he was the Astros’ catcher during their 2005 World Series appearance.

He spent most of his MLB career as a Houston Astro, but he also played eight seasons with other teams before, in between, and after his two stints in Houston.

He kicked off his major league career in San Diego. He made his major league debut as a Padre on July 28, 1993, and that is where he stayed until 1996. He finished the 1996 season with the Detroit Tigers, but then in 1997, his Astros career officially began. However, his time with the Astros was initially short-lived. He went back to Detroit from 1999–2000, but then returned to the Astros in 2001, where he stayed until 2008. He ended his major league career in Los Angeles, where he was a Dodger for two seasons, 2009 and 2010. He bounced around a lot, but he is best known for being an Astro. He caught more games than any catcher in Astros history. He won three Gold Gloves with the Astros and helped Houston win division titles in 1997 and 1998. He played in the 2004 NLCS and 2005 World Series.

Now, his first official season as the Astros’ manager is exactly 30 years after his first season wearing an Astros jersey.

With 18 seasons in the major leagues, he definitely has the experience as a player, but now let’s take a look at his experience on the other side of the game.

Following his final season behind the plate, Ausmus went on to become the special assistant to baseball operations and field executive for the San Diego Padres from 2011–2013. During that time, in 2012, he also managed Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers, and he led the team again in the 2026 tournament. Then, in 2014, he took on his first managerial role where his career began. He was the Detroit Tigers manager from 2014–2017. He compiled a 314–332 record over four seasons, winning the AL Central division title and making the postseason in his first year. Detroit won 86 games under Ausmus in 2016.

In 2018, he went to the Los Angeles Angels to be the special assistant to the general manager before becoming the manager in 2019. The Angels finished 72–90 under him in 2019. Then, in 2022, he was the Oakland Athletics’ bench coach, and he became the New York Yankees’ bench coach in 2024, his last stop before becoming the Astros’ manager for 2027.

There is no doubt that the experience is there, but he is already facing backlash based on his numbers in his previous managerial positions. If he puts up similar numbers with the Astros in 2027, there is a chance he won’t last long.

Regardless, out of all of the candidates, he got the job for a reason. Now it is time to look forward.

Ausmus is entering an organization with plenty on its plate. Randy Flores and Ausmus need to finalize the coaching staff and address roster decisions. Flores interviewed several candidates before choosing him.

Ausmus is inheriting a team facing significant roster decisions, and the pressure is on to help guide this organization to a better season than an 81-81 record.

He last played for the Astros 18 years ago, and now he is being welcomed back on the other side. It will be interesting to see what Ausmus and Flores tackle first as they attempt to get this team ready for 2027.