Report: Andrew Ball and Bill Firkus Running Astros Baseball Ops in Interim
Owner Jim Crane cleaned house. There was no backup plan immediately in place for the Houston Astros, and with James Click and Scott Powers both fired, the organization needed to reach further down the tree for their heads of baseball operations.
Taking over in the interim, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, are Andrew Ball and Bill Firkus.
Ball was, like Powers, an assistant general manager, while Firkus was the senior director of baseball strategy. It seems evident that Crane has his thumb in the pie as well. He's been known to be one of the more hands-on owners.
According to Rome, Ball and Firkus are running the "day-to-day" operations. Thus it seems likely that Crane, himself, is handling the long term picture.
The Astros need a captain to man their ship. They're sailing through smooth waters and clear skies after winning the 2022 World Series. Now, their must have their man to avoid any potential storms.
Update: According to Mark Berman of FOX 26, the Astros have promoted Firkus to assistant general manager. Charlos Cook, the Astros former senior director of player evaluation, was also promoted to assistant GM. They both join Ball as a trio of assistant GMs.
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