11:33pm: The Astros have confirmed in a press release that they are letting General Manager Ed Wade and President of Baseball Operations Tal Smith go. The release goes on to say that Assistant GM Dave Gottfried will serve as interim GM until a new GM is hired. However, Gottfried is not a candidate for the permanent position. The search for a new GM "begins immediately".
11:21pm: Tal Smith said he was told by team president George Postolos he and GM Ed Wade are being dismissed, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26.
8:41pm: The Astros, coming off the worst season in franchise history, are expected to announce major changes Monday, including the dismissal of GM Ed Wade, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Furthermore, Tal Smith, the team’s president of baseball operations, is also expected to leave his current position, possibly by retiring.
The fate of manager Brad Mills, who is under contract through 2012 with an option for ’13, is uncertain. Mills could be part of the initial housecleaning, or his future could be decided later by the team's next GM.
Last Sunday it was reported that Astros owner Jim Crane was prepared to make a swift decision on the futures of Wade and Smith. Now, Crane and new team president George Postolos plan one-on-one meetings with all of the team’s top executives starting Monday, sources tell Rosenthal and Morosi.
Wade has served as Houston's GM for just over four years and is under contract through 2012. Smith, meanwhile, has been with the Astros a total of 35 years, the last 17 as club president. In total, he's spent 54 years in baseball.
There has been a great deal of speculation surrounding Wade's job security in recent weeks. Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com wrote that if Wade were to be fired, the club could have an ambitious wish list including Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker. Hunsicker previously served as Houston's GM from 1996-2004.
As we've heard before, Friedman is happy with his job in Tampa Bay and unlikely to leave, despite being a Houston native, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Knobler also tweets that friends of Crane say the owner is a fan of the Rangers organization.
Only took new management to get rid of him. Other than acquiring Michael Bourn (who is no longer with the team), he hasn’t done much of value. Hopefully the Astros can achieve some success under Crane.
First of all, glad this is happening…however, to say that Wade hasn’t done anything of value is just an overstatement. Has he been a candidate for Wxecutive of the year? No, but he hasn’t been an abject failure.
you know you have been looking at stats too long when you think that Wxecutive is an advanced sabermetric
Oops… Typo, my bad. I meant to say “Executive of the Year”.
Rebuilding to commence in 5…4…3…2…1…0
Pretty sure that rebuilding started four months ago.
Pretty sure that rebuilding started fourteen months ago..
They traded 4 star players and got 3 good prospects and 1 good player for them.
Wasn’t arguing what they got in return for their trades. Just pointing out when Berkman was traded is when things really went into full blown rebuild mode.
I would call that a debuilding mode.
Gotta love MLB trade rumors. Astros have Berkman and Oswalt? They are way past their prime and suck. Astros trade Berkman and Oswalt? They are star players. Astros have Pence and Bourn? Overrated. Astros trade Pence and Bourn. Stars.
As a long suffering Astros fan, this made my day.
Sadly, it will take years to correct the damage Wade and Tal Smith (who also hopefully is out tomorrow) have done to this franchise.
As a long-suffering Cub fan who just got a sliver of hope in the switch to Epstein, I’m rooting for ‘Stros fans to get a worthwhile GM in place, too. It can’t fix anything overnight to replace a bad GM, but it makes the entire enterprise of rooting for your team feel less pointless. Good luck.
The damage was done before Wade took the helm. He inherited a team with not just the worst farm system in baseball, but the worst farm system BY FAR. He hasn’t done an amazing job, but I’ll say this, at least the Astros farm isn’t ranked 30th anymore.
Please God, let it be so. Hopefully, goodbye to Wade and Tal Smith. Clean sweep of the idiocy that ruined this team since they went to the World Series. Now to hire a good GM like Hunsicker or Thad Levine.
I heard Jim Crane got Ed Wade to pay 10% of his salary in return for letting him get fired and work for an AL team
Too soon?
he has no players left to give away
Wandy and Myers…… Although Myers is awful.
Early Christmas gift
Any chance that Crane will hire Shawn Chacon to go in and give Ed Wade the news? 🙂
While the news of the probable firings made my day (especially with Matt #2 done for the season), this comment made it even better. The image of Shawn putting that scrawny little neck in a choke hold and saying this is from every Astros fan as he throws him out the door brings me a warm feeling….Does that make me a bad person?
No, just means you had Wade as your GM…every Phillies fan felt the same way from 1998-2005.
I’d wonder if this opens up a trade involving Wandy sooner rather than later. A bunch of teams would be in on him but I think he would be a nice fit for the Jays, and I’m sure there could be a trade made there. Deal centered around Hutch or Molina should do it. It’s a win now move that I think we need.
If the Jays went after Rodriguez, it wouldn’t involve elite prospects for a 34 year old back of the rotation pitcher, which is what he would be in Toronto. I see more a Thames, Ahrens, Cooper package to get him, nothing more, unless Houston picks up 90 percent of his salary. Then you might include a Perez, Jimenez, Jenkins, Sierra option, deleting one of the earlier players.
Crack smoking are we now?
Agreed, I’d rather a fan undervalue prospects than overvalue them. Would I want Cooper and Thames (don’t know enough about Ahrens) for my best pitcher?
Wandy has been pitching (mostly) against the NL Central, West and East, as well as the AL Central in Interleague his whole career. Put him in the AL East and he’ll be lit up. Not a good move foe the Jays, especially with Molina being shipped out, and not one in which AA would ever make.
I don’t think that argument hold as much weight as it had in the past few years. Apart from TB, I don’t think any rotation in the AL east is set. Combine that with a tough NL central the past couple years and I don’t think the divide is as great as critics are making it out. And I don’t think Wandy is elite, but I think you can pencil him in right after Morrow, and he might just put up better numbers.
Now the Phillies have no trading partner.
that was my first thought too…
The phillies’ farm system is getting pretty bare.
There was a lot of recalls from the AAAA level.
mine too
First thing I thought was “Now who’s Amaro going to fleece at the deadline every year?”
To be fair and in all seriousness, he gave up a ton of talent for Pence and lost the Oswalt trade (if Wade wasn’t stupid enough to move Anthony Gose he would have had a steal).
Both teams benefited from the Lidge/Bourn trade… other than that awful contract Gillick signed with Lidge.
I expect Wade to get a job somewhere in the Phillies organization. Either as a scout or (hopefully not) as an adviser. Ruben owes his career to this guy.
Lost the Oswalt trade? Happ was brutal this year and none of the other players acquired have even stepped onto a major league diamond.
The Phillies got 1 and a half a years of Oswalt (who pitched great in 2010) and a down year/injury plagued year. Because of his injury history and contract, they couldn’t offer him arbitration.
Oswalt had a $16 million a year AAV (or something like that) and had limited suitors. He got a guy who had the cieling of Carl Crawford and a Short Stop. While they haven’t stepped on to a major league field, he got talent back for Oswalt. The Phillies aren’t going to get any compensation when Oswalt walks and the Astros could have been in the exact situation.
Ed Wade’s only mistake (and it was a huge one) was trading Anthony Gose for Brett Wallace.
the funny part is, at the time of the wallace for gose trade, jays fans flipped..
in 5 years, it could end up being AA’s best move.
Anthony Gose hasn’t proven anything either. They both could be busts
They both could be. Anthony Gose has developed into one of the best prospects in the game, the type of talent you are expected to acquire in a trade of that magnitude.
The Phillies “fleecing” the Astros is the most overblown thing out there. I like to have fun with it and I’m sure a lot of people do, but he got legitimate talent back in all of those trades. He didn’t give anybody away (besides Anthony Gose).
The Gose for Wallace trade wasn’t a fleecing either. Way too early to say Brett Wallace will never amount to anything at the MLB level, just as it is to say Gose could be AA’s best acquisition in 5 years. That Colby Rasmus deal wasn’t too shabby, since the pieces Toronto traded were ultimately expendable to them.
The Phillies?
could this be why the sox delayed announcing their manager? perhaps they will go after mills if/when he is let go?
People keep saying this, but I very highly doubt it.
Most indications are that the Sox want to move far away from the Francona regime since the players got too cozy with him. The last move I see the Red Sox making, if that is the case, is hiring Francona’s sidekick. If they were willing to go with a Francona guy, I have to imagine they would have given Hale an interview.
Huge blow to our farm system, we just lost our AAAA team.
Darn, you beat me to it
Yet you guys still lost in the first round. I guess overplayed jokes can cure under performing.
Next stop: Omar
Whos gonna help the Phillies if Ed Wade is gone?
Now there are no GM’s to beat up on other than maybe Sabean occasionally. Imagine.. Minaya.. Hendry and now Wade all gone in a little over a year.
It is amazing what a bad economy will do to enlighten owners to finally dump flat out useless GM’s who had -0- business running an organization to begin with and set back years, if not decades ones that they just left.
Nice but How long will it take this team to compete especially since there heading West with my Boys and Rangers and the A’s. How long will the Astros keep being a last place team?.. Coz my Angels are young and don’t seem to give out yet..Rangers Same thing..and A’s im pretty sure A’s come back in 5 years..Seems tough for the Astros and there fans..But nice way to head towards a new direction..GOOD LUCK!
AL West: “This is not what we agreed to.”
Ha! That’s funny.
well done
Once they can Wade, what makes the Astro Powers that Be think any of these guys want to come to Houston to be the GM? Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker. With exception to Hunsicker, no one wanted to join the O’s, so why would they go to Houston.
Speaking of New Owners, when are the Orioles going to get a “New” Owner.
Peter Angelos you’re Next! Sell The Team. Free The Orioles Now!
Because Peter Angelos doesn’t own the Astros.
They’ll offer more money…a better opportunity to win…(in the case of Friedman) a chance to win with his hometown team… There are several reasons.
most half of those guys are part of the Rangers organization and it would give them a chance to stay in Texas too. If they got a Ranger exec it would also open the door for Maddux to Manage (which hew wants to do) and be able to stay in Texas with his family. A win situation for him
You know… He actually was not all that bad until he got burned really bad with Albert Belle and his bad hip contract, then he just got gun shy with any large sized contract offer it seemed, other than that one he offered tex a few years back many seemed to think was just to make it look as if it was to get the local ‘boy” back, but probably was glad all along he never did.
That bad hip of Belle’s may have cost the Orioles a few “slots” up in the standings over the last decade.
They have a great market that can offer them sustained success over a period of time and can build their own team.
If I’m a GM candidate, I’d love to take over the Astros, or any rebuilding project for that matter. That’s how you make a name for yourself and a top GM.
Hopefully they stop being Phillies AAA team
You can say you foresaw the new CBA agreement, the Papelbon signing, and Duquette being hired by the Orioles . . . but NOBODY saw this coming.
I guess the Phillies will need to find a new farm team.
Minnesota is the early favorite for that title in this free agent season. Jim Thome (I guess technically an Indian) and potentially Cuddyer/Kuebel.
Awww don’t get rid of him the 2 best teams in the East need to keep getting best players for cheap
if Millsy gets canned I see him instantly being a candidate to replace Terry Francona, or, at least, a candidate to Bench Coach under Bobby V.
Mike Chernoff would be a perfect fit for the Astros.
Go get him.
Tal Smith? Is that the same Tal Smith that George Steinbrenner ran afoul of minority Yankeee partner for firing it seems like thirty years or so ago?
He has been around awhile, unless he is Tal Smith jr.
I’d like to thank Mr. Wade and Tal for their service to the the team. Tough job figuring out baseball but I’m sure it’s fun.
Wade needed to go there is no question about that, but over the past couple years he has done a decent job of acquiring some talent.
Bourne for Schafer, Abreu, Clemens, Oberholtzer. He got one toolsy outfielder that was a former top prospect, a bullpen arm that is ready right now but wild and two upside arms. Not great but not terrible. Grade B-
Berkamn + 4 mill for Paredes and Melancon. Got a decent to pretty darn good late inning reliever and a interesting guy that most likely will be a backup infielder possibly more. Berkman was having a bad year and had a contract that was not favorable. Grade C-
Oswalt +11 mill for Happ, Villar and Gose. Gose was a nice pickup and is very well regarded. Villar shows a lot of promise and plays a premium position. He’s also still very raw but very young. Happ is a back of the rotation guy that is becoming very expensive. The lack of a quality arm and the money given up makes this a big miss. But Gose made it somewhat okay. Grade C-
Keppinger for Sosa and Stoffel. Basically moving an average 2b for high minors guys. Nothing exceptional, but better than a lot of the junk the astros have had in the upper minors. Grade C
Pence for Cosart, Singleton, Santana and Zeid. Personally love this package. High upside prospects all around. Cosart and Singleton are elite prospects, Santana is a very interesting player and Zeid looked good up until this last year. Grade A-
Gose for Wallace. Big miss here so far. Wallace may end up being a decent player, but his power may never come around. Goss is raw but is still super young. Grade D-
Overall we are looking at C level work. The Astros got a lot of talent, but gave up way to much money. The Oswalt trade was pretty much a disaster. One that should not be forgiven. Surely there was more out there than this? Altogether thought he Astros are in a better position to compete though. Trading Wandy should help to build on this new influx of talent. That trade will be very indicative of where the Astros go from here.
i just have a question, why did this happen so late in the offseason? if you where going to let them go, why not do it earlier and send a clear message of change rather than wait and now have uncertainty during the signing period. good move, wrong time, wrong message
I was thinking the same thing, Peter. Why wasn’t he canned at the end of the season, if not before, so that the process of finding his replacement could have begun sooner.
It would have been done earlier if not for MLB forcing and blackmailing the Astros into the changing of leagues from the NL to the AL and thus making the new management and ownership to wait until being approved by MLB. Mlb even negociated with the new ownership on how much money to give the Astros. The new owners have not even been in charge a week. So I hope that clears it up for you guy’s.
Monty, I don’t see why the two things are or need be linked.
The new ownership just took over the team within the last couple weeks.
Because the new ownership just took over last week.
You are right it would have been better but was not possible. the new management has not even been in controll for a week.
Maybe teh mighty Jayz can hire him so we can talk about teh 5 crappy fired former GMz we have!!!1!11!1one
I could see the Astros bringing back Gerry Hunsicker. They would improve just like that!
I could see Andrew Friedmann signing a real contract (unlike with the Rays) to a new fresh start, with an actual payroll/fanbase licking his chops has he quite possibly would have 3 of the first 60 or so picks, including the number 1 overall pick.
Not to mention the system Houston has is continuing to propel itself into the top half of the league. Probably not quite there yet (due to losses of Altuve, Martinez and Lyles), but should be close.
I hope Wade gets a job with a good team so the Phillies can pillage that team. We will need another AAA team like the one in Houston.
You need all the help you can get LOL