baseball

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros fired general manager Ed Wade and team president Tal Smith late Sunday night in the first of the changes promised by new owner Jim Crane.

The moves come less than a week after the sale of the team from Drayton McLane to Crane was officially completed last Tuesday, a transaction that requires the franchise to move from the N.L. Central to the A.L. West in 2013.

In a news conference on the day owners approved the sale Nov. 17, Crane vowed to meet with all the executives and “make some very, very quick adjustments.”

And he did, with the Astros announcing the moves in a statement from new team president and CEO George Postolos.

“With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations,” Postolos said. “We have told Ed Wade and Tal Smith that we are making a change.”

The search for a new general manager will begin immediately. Assistant general manager Dave Gottfried will serve as interim GM, but will not be considered for the permanent job.

Postolos said the Astros want a candidate who has a strong commitment to player development necessary for long-term success.

“Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball,” Postolos said.

In the last two years, Wade traded away stars such Lance Berkman, Michael Bourn, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence for mostly young prospects, saying he had “inherited a pretty barren farm system” that he had to replenish.

In other developments

Rangers to erect statue of fallen firefighter: The Texas Rangers are erecting a statue of Shannon Stone, the firefighter who died after falling over an outfield railing at a Texas Rangers game in July.

The 39-year-old Stone, a Brownwood Fire Department firefighter, had taken his 6-year-old son, Cooper, to the ballpark in hopes of catching a ball. The Rangers said Monday that the life-size statue will be created by sculptor Bruce Greene and will be placed outside the home plate gate at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Greene created the Immortal Ten Memorial at Baylor, which honors 10 players, coaches and fans of the school’s basketball team who were killed in a 1927 bus crash.

There currently are statues of Nolan Ryan and former Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff at the ballpark’s center field plaza.

Narron replaces Sveum as Brewers coach: Johnny Narron was hired Monday as hitting coach of the Milwaukee Brewers to replace Dale Sveum, who became manager of the Chicago Cubs two weeks ago.

Narron had been assistant hitting coach of the Rangers after serving three years as a special assignment coach.

The older brother of Brewers bench coach Jerry Narron, he spent four years in the Milwaukee organization as hitting coach at Helena (2003, 2006), manager at Helena (2004) and hitting coach at Class A Brevard County (2005).

Postseason shares on Cardinals worth $323,170: A full postseason share for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals was worth $323,170, up slightly from last year but still below the record set in 2009.

A full share was worth $317,631 on the 2010 San Francisco Giants and $350,030 on the 2009 New York Yankees.

The commissioner’s office said Monday that a full share on the losing Rangers was $251,516, up from $246,280 for last year’s Rangers but down from $265,358 for the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies.

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros fired general manager Ed Wade and team president Tal Smith on Sunday night in the first of the changes promised by new owner Jim Crane.

The moves come less than a week after the sale of the team from Drayton McLane to Crane was officially completed last Tuesday, a transaction that requires the franchise to move from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013.

In a news conference on the day owners approved the sale on Nov. 17, Crane vowed to meet with all the executives and “make some very, very quick adjustments.”

And he did, with the Astros announcing the moves late Sunday night in a statement from new team president and chief executive officer George Postolos.

“With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations,” Postolos said. “We have told Ed Wade and Tal Smith that we are making a change.”

The search for a new general manager will begin immediately. Assistant general manager Dave Gottfried will serve as interim GM, but will not be considered for the permanent job.

Postolos said the Astros want a candidate who has a strong commitment to player development necessary for long-term success.

“Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball,” Postolos said. “We will hire the best candidate available to achieve our goal.”

Wade was hired in September 2007 after spending the previous two years as a professional scout for the San Diego Padres. He was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1998 until he was fired after the 2005 season.

The Astros made a 13-game improvement in Wade’s first season as general manager and finished 86-75. But that would be their only winning season under Wade as they won 74 games in 2009 and 76 in 2010 before posting this year’s franchise-worst mark of 56-106.

In the last two years Wade traded away stars such Lance Berkman, Michael Bourn, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence for mostly young prospects, saying he had “inherited a pretty barren farm system” that he had to replenish.

Smith, who has been team president since 1994, has spent more than 50 years as a baseball executive and more than 30 of those years have been with the Astros. He worked for the franchise in its first season in 1962 when the team was known as the Houston Colt .45s and remained in Houston until 1972.

He spent some time working for the Yankees before returning as general manager of the Astros from 1975-80.

Smith’s input was key in the development of both the Astrodome and Minute Maid Park. A small hill in center field at Minute Maid Park is known as Tal’s Hill as a nod to his work on the project.

CORPUS CHRISTI —
Less than a week after officially taking the reigns from Drayton McLane, new Astros owner Jim Crane and CEO George Postolos cleaned house, firing GM Ed Wade and longtime Astros exec Tal Smith.

In case you were wondering, that was the other foot dropping.

Manager Brad Mills seems to be safe, but the rest of the front office has seen a seismic shift. Names like Tampa Bay GM and native Houstonian Andrew Friedman, former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker and Senior VP of Baseball Operations for MLB Kim Ng are being thrown around as possible replacements for Wade and each one of them would be superior choices. Other names coming out are David Forst from Oakland, Thad Levine and A.J. Preller, both from Texas. Again, all great choices.

This is what the fan base has clamored for since the decay of Houston’s organization began in 2006 – a clean slate, a return-to-basics and a fresh voice. We’d grown tired of McLane’s “Are you ready to be a champion?” motto, and we’d grown frustrated with Ed Wade’s horrible decisions in free agency and trades. After 106 losses and multiple trades that saw franchise icons Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn dealt away, even the uniforms are coming under fire.

It’s not Ed Wade’s fault that Houston was so bad – at least not entirely. He was given an impossible job, a lose-lose situation from the outset. His job, while he was employed in Houston, was to eventually shed payroll, replenish the farm system and keep the big league team competitive. Hey, two out of three isn’t bad; though we don’t know exactly how good the farm system is and likely won’t know until two or three years from now. There’s a lot we don’t know about Ed Wade’s enduring legacy going forward and there’s plenty who believe he did no good and some who believe he did plenty.

But we can agree on one thing – the Astros needed to join the rest of baseball in the 21st century.

As one of the last remaining, non-metrics driven franchises, the Astros organization has been the laughingstock of baseball, trying to play Moneyball like a guy throwing darts in the dark. No amount of measurable metrics knowledge would’ve allowed Houston to pay guys like Kaz Matsui and Brandon Lyon $15 million over three years apiece, or to trade youth and cost efficiency for Miguel Tejada. Mike Hampton would’ve never happened, nor Pedro Feliz, or Bill Hall.

When it comes to jokes, the Astros have been the punch line for years.

Whoever the incoming GM is, he or she will have a massive amount of obstacles in the way of just making the major league team competitive again. Some believe it will take four or five years, maybe longer, for the Astros to reach that stage. Add that colossal road block to the fact that no one knows what kind of owner Crane is, and that the Astros have hardly any talent in Houston, and are still years from finding out what new prospects like Jonathan Singleton and George Springer will bring to their lineup, if anything, and this doesn’t exactly look like the most attractive job.

Whoever takes on the GM role will do it with the understanding that they, too, may not see things through to the end. Not many GMs get that much time to make things happen.

I believe that metrics and simple gut feeling, or guts, need to be harmoniously balanced in order to breed a consistent winner and contender. Some teams are too much of one thing and the Astros have been too much of a bad thing. Yes, they’ve turned around as far as direction goes, but this is a results-driven league and Ed Wade wasn’t getting it done. As for Tal, he was Drayton’s right-hand man, but when Crane hired Postolos, it was pretty clear that Smith had no role in Houston.

Wade’s primary goal to rebuild the farm system will be carried on by another GM who will begin to build on the work Wade has done since taking over in 2007. That is, draft smart, build winners at the lower depths, promote and, eventually, start fielding a winner in Houston. It would be a dream come true for Houstonians if Friedman can be persuaded to join the Astros, and with the team heading to the AL West in 2013, that might add to the enticement and odds of that happening. But for now, the race to have a front office team in place by the Winter Meetings, taking place Dec. 5-8, starts now.

The bottom line that Jim Crane sent in his first week on the job was that there’s no excuse for a franchise with the financial advantages that Houston has to be this bad at every level. That’s why Ed Wade and Tal Smith are gone. If you were part of the problem, you won’t be around for the solution. Sounds like accountability to me.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros fired general manager Ed Wade and team president Tal Smith on Sunday night in the first of the changes promised by new owner Jim Crane.

The moves come less than a week after the sale of the team from Drayton McLane to Crane was officially completed last Tuesday, a transaction that requires the franchise to move from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013.

In a news conference on the day owners approved the sale on Nov. 17, Crane vowed to meet with all the executives and “make some very, very quick adjustments.”

And he did, with the Astros announcing the moves late Sunday night in a statement from new team president and chief executive officer George Postolos.

“With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations,” Postolos said. “We have told Ed Wade and Tal Smith that we are making a change.”

The search for a new general manager will begin immediately. Assistant general manager Dave Gottfried will serve as interim GM, but will not be considered for the permanent job.

Postolos said the Astros want a candidate who has a strong commitment to player development necessary for long-term success.

“Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball,” Postolos said. “We will hire the best candidate available to achieve our goal.”

Wade was hired in September 2007 after spending the previous two years as a professional scout for the San Diego Padres. He was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1998 until he was fired after the 2005 season.

The Astros made a 13-game improvement in Wade’s first season as general manager and finished 86-75. But that would be their only winning season under Wade as they won 74 games in 2009 and 76 in 2010 before posting this year’s franchise-worst mark of 56-106.

In the last two years Wade traded away stars such Lance Berkman, Michael Bourn, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence for mostly young prospects, saying he had “inherited a pretty barren farm system” that he had to replenish.

Smith, who has been team president since 1994, has spent more than 50 years as a baseball executive and more than 30 of those years have been with the Astros. He worked for the franchise in its first season in 1962 when the team was known as the Houston Colt .45s and remained in Houston until 1972.

He spent some time working for the Yankees before returning as general manager of the Astros from 1975-80.

Smith’s input was key in the development of both the Astrodome and Minute Maid Park. A small hill in center field at Minute Maid Park is known as Tal’s Hill as a nod to his work on the project.

Read More: Houston Astros

Jim Crane took over as owner of the Houston Astros on Nov. 17.

He didn’t wait very long to begin changing things in the executive offices. According to the team’s website, team president Tal Smith and general manager Ed Wade were fired Sunday:

In a statement released by the club, team president and CEO George Postolos said assistant general manager David Gottfried will serve as interim general manager but is not a candidate for the permanent position.

“With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations,” Postolos said in the statement. “We have told Ed Wade and Tal Smith that we are making a change. We recognize their dedication to the Houston Astros. We thank each of them for their significant contributions and many years of service to the Astros, and wish them our very best as they pursue new opportunities.”

Smith had been part of the Astros for much of their existence; he joined them in 1960, before they even took the field and when they were still named “Colt .45s”, and was with them most of the time from then until 1980. He returned to the team in 1993 when Drayton McLane bought the club.

Wade was hired as GM in 2007 and although the Astros had some good Septembers that made their overall record in his first couple of years look decent, they hit rock bottom in 2011 with the worst record in franchise history, losing 106 games.

For more on the Astros, visit our SB Nation Astros blog The Crawfish Boxes.

While the rest of the country was recovering from the Thanksgiving meal, on Nov. 27, the Houston Astros were busy making changes to the team. Both president of baseball operations Tal Smith and general manager Ed Wade have been fired. I suspect that Jim Crane is not finished.

Firing Wade and Smith

I am not surprised by the new team owner’s move to fire both Wade and Smith. Jim Crane was allowed to purchase the team on Nov. 17, and he immediately announced he would be making changes to the Astros. The conclusion to the team’s worst season in history was bound to bring significant changes. After losing 106 games in 2011, the Houston Astros will have to make many adjustments.

The Future Move

Jim Crane has stood by the decision to move the Astros from the National League Central to the American League West in 2013. The recent firings will have no impact on this future move. As the Astros continue to lose fans, this is not an issue that is likely to change. Crane has not addressed how fans will react to this move.

Who is Next?

The Houston Astros have not announced firing any other members of the team. However, I would not be surprised to see Jim Crane continue to make changes to management and trainers as he searchers for a way to rebuild the Astros.

What Should Crane Do?

Changing the team’s management is only a partial step to improving the team. The Houston Astros have problems that reach beyond general manager or president of baseball operations. I hope to see Jim Crane address the issues with manager Brad Mills. If he is willing to let go of Tal Smith and Ed Wade, Mills may be next on the list.

I also think that Jim Crane needs to address the designated hitter problem that the Astros will face once they move to the American League West. I think it needs to be eliminated, and Crane could start a movement to do this. Additionally, the team owner must address the issue of angry fans, and the problems with the current roster. These are two aspects that cannot be ignored.

More from this contributor:

Hope Solo is Still Dancing: Fan View

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Lana has a B.S. degree in Biology and Chemistry. She is an avid athlete, youth coach and follows several sports. Follow her @Lana_Bandoim on Twitter.

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The Houston Astros fired general
manager Ed Wade and president of baseball operations Tal Smith,
less than two weeks after the team was officially sold to Crane
Capital Group’s Jim Crane.

“With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start
in baseball operations,” Astros chief executive George Postolos
said in a statement on the team’s website.

The Astros finished with a 56-106 record last season, the
worst in Major League Baseball. Houston had a winning record
once in Wade’s five-year tenure as general manager.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Erik Matuszewski at
matuszewski@bloomberg.net

HOUSTON – Drayton McLane’s ownership of the Houston Astros officially came to an end Tuesday when he completed the sale of the franchise to Houstonian Jim Crane.

Crane and his group paid $615 million for the franchise, with Major League Baseball paying McLane an additonal $35 million to go through with the transaction.

McLane netting $650 million to sell the franchise, which is $30 million less than the deal he and Crane had originally agreed on.

The forced move of the Astros to the American League by Major League Baseball in 2013, the principle reason for McLane receiving less money and MLB subsidizing a portion of the deal.

Crane received nothing from Major League Baseball to consumate the transaction.

“It’s been 19 years,” McLane said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. “It’s been a wonderful experience, but it’s time for someone else to come in.

“I had original ideas and changed the franchise. “(Former Astros owner) John McMullen changed the franchise when he bought it. So it’s time for Jim Crane and his group to exercise their leadership.

“So it’s sad. It’s sad because of the relationships I’ve had with people. I’ve enjoyed being the owner of the Houston Astros.”

Until McLane officially placed the Astros on the market last year, it seemed he would rather give up an arm or a leg than part ways with his baseball team.

“It certainly has been a difficult time,” McLane said. “It’s time to pass it on. You can stay too long.

“You see political leaders, business leaders, sports leaders stay too long. It’s time to hand to the next group of people. Jim Crane is in his early fifties. He’s got an energetic group behind him, that is supporting him and it’s going to be exciting to watch how they move the team forward.”

Before leaving Minute Maid Park McLane left a personal note for Crane and a bottle of champagne. He said he got the idea from the tradition used by Presidents at the White House.

“When a President of the United States is leaving office he leaves a letter of good wishes to the incoming President and he leaves that in the White House, in the oval office. So I just thought I would leave a letter of good wishes.

“I’ve worked with Jim, admire him. He was so determined. We’re good friends. Just a letter wishing him great success.”

McLane enhanced the gesture he borrowed from the White House by adding the bottle of champagne.

“Yes, to celebrate,” McLane said. “It’s a new time for him too.”

Crane told the media in his first official press briefing since taking over the Astros he thought McLane’s gesture was “a very nice touch.”

During his first day as owner of the Astros Crane met with the current management team, including those from baseball operations.

“We asked them to freshen up their new ideas and things that they’d like to see get done and things that are working well, things that they don’t think are working well,” Crane said. “Have a nice rest over the holiday and come in and we’ll sit down and visit with each one of them individually and start going over what changes we want to make.”

While Crane has many other business interests, his focus for the forseeable future will be on his baseball franchise.

“We’ve got people in charge of our other interests,” Crane said. “We’ll be focused 100 percent on this until we feel we’ve got it running the way we want it to run. Of course (new Astros president George) Postolos will be here every day and I’ll be putting in a lot of hard work with him until we get where we want to get.”

 

HOUSTON (AP) – The sale of the Houston Astros to Jim Crane from Drayton McLane has been completed.

Baseball owners unanimously approved the long-delayed sale of the team last Thursday, a transaction that requires the franchise to move from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013.

Crane, the fifth owner in the history of the franchise, also announced Tuesday that George Postolos will be the team’s president and chief executive officer. Postolos is a former president and CEO of the Houston Rockets and has worked as a special assistant to NBA commissioner David Stern.

Crane says he is excited that the sale is complete and that he’ll get to work on “bringing a winner back to Houston.”

The Astros went 56-106 last season for the worst record in club history.

HOUSTON — The sale of the Houston Astros to Jim Crane from Drayton McLane has been completed.

Baseball owners unanimously approved the long-delayed sale of the team last Thursday, a transaction that requires the franchise to move from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013.

Crane, the fifth owner in the history of the franchise, also announced Tuesday that George Postolos will be the team’s president and chief executive officer. Postolos is a former president and CEO of the Houston Rockets and has worked as a special assistant to NBA commissioner David Stern.

Crane says he is excited that the sale is complete and that he’ll get to work on “bringing a winner back to Houston.”

The Astros went 56-106 last season for the worst record in club history.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Houston Astros are officially headed to the American League West, in 2013.

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced on Thursday that Jim Crane’s purchase of the club has been unanimously approved by owners, CBS Sports reported.

Crane is expected to receive a $65 million discount off the $680 million asking price from Drayton McLane if he moved the Astros to the American League.

Houston has competed in the National League since its inception in 1962.

MLB Network initially reported last month that the Astros would be headed to the American League, thereby giving both leagues 15 teams apiece.

With an odd number of teams in each league, interleague play would be necessary throughout the entire season rather than for brief stretches.

The Astros were a league-worst 56-106 this season. Over the past two years, they have traded stars Hunter Pence, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt in order to cut payroll.

Major League Baseball (MLB) owners have approved the sale of the Houston Astros as part of a deal that will see the National League Central Division club move to the American League West for the 2013 season.

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Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but a report on the Astros website on Thursday said Drayton McLane, who has owned the club since 1992, sold the team to a group headed by Houston businessman Jim Crane for $610 million.

“I welcome Jim Crane and his group as they prepare to become the new stewards of the Astros,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.

“I thank them for their patience and determination throughout a long but necessary process, which allowed us to accomplish our due diligence.”

Under McLane, who put the team up for sale last November, the Astros have experienced some of the greatest moments in the franchise’s history, including winning the NL pennant in 2005 and the opening of Minute Maid Park in 2000.

Houston’s eventual move to the AL West will put them in a division with cross-state rival Texas Rangers, the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners.

It will also mark MLB’s first realignment since the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the AL Central to the NL Central before the 1998 season.

When the Astros switch divisions, MLB will have 15 clubs in each league and five clubs in each of its six divisions for the first time.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ed Wade is focused on conducting the offseason baseball operations of the Houston Astros, even if his future with the team is uncertain.

With the proposed sale of the team from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane expected to be approved Thursday by major league owners, Wade is not fretting. He’s working.

“We’re business as usual,” he said. “The proposed change or whatever which way you would say it, it’s been there,” he said Tuesday as general managers opened meetings at a downtown Milwaukee hotel.

“We’ve run through the draft, we’ve run through the trading deadline. We’ve run through the labor period and now we’re at the general managers meeting and it still hasn’t been finalized,” Wade said.

Wade was the GM in Philadelphia before taking the job Houston and knows that the game’s shifts are numerous. In fact, the Astros will likely end up in the AL after the sale is approved.

“I’ve been around,” Wade said. “It’s probably more difficult for people who are new to the organization. I think realistically if you’ve been in this game for a long time you recognize that uncertainty is a fairly standard circumstance.”

Another GM is seeing some clarity following a tumultuous period — Ned Colletti of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball have agreed to a court-supervised sale of the once glamorous and now bankrupt franchise.

While the sides hope for a quick deal, giving McCourt the money to pay his divorce settlement by April, MLB sales sometimes drag on for six months to 1 1/2 years. Once bidders are identified, the court is likely to conduct an auction.

“We have some resolution, but we don’t have complete resolution,” Colletti said, adding that there is some relief that the episode is on its way — apparently — to being resolved.

“It takes you out of a situation that you don’t know which way is going to go — not that we know how this is going to go, either. But it’s at least one step,” he said.

Colletti said the Dodgers were still working on details for Matt Kemp’s eight-year, $160 million contract and that it could be completed before Thanksgiving.

Scott Boras, the agent for Prince Fielder, met with Brewers GM Doug Melvin on Tuesday. Fielder and Albert Pujols are the marquee free agents this offseason.

“We’ll see how the markets play out. Our goal is to try to keep Albert Pujols,” said Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, who’s already hired Mike Matheny as manager to replace Tony La Russa, who resigned after winning the World Series.

Mozeliak said it’s impossibe to remove emotions from a negotiation to retain Pujols, the Cardinals’ star for the last decade.

“From a strategic standpoint, I don’t think we need to divorce ourselves from that or to simply ignore that. The facts are, he’s an iconic player. He’s been the face of this organization for a long time,” Mozeliak said.

“To deny that or to fail to recognize that, I don’t think you’re looking through the proper set of lenses.”

New Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said he and new Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein talked again Tuesday about compensation for Epstein’s departure from Boston with a year left on his contract.

Cherington said one of the problems in reaching a solution is that both he and Epstein are conducting a managerial search — they’ve interviewed several of the same candidates, including Dale Sveum, who is supposed to meet with both teams for a second time in Milwaukee — and they’ve been busy with transitions to new jobs.

“And there is no secret there is a bit of a disagreement on what the level of compensation should be,” Cherington said. “Theo and I talked today. The more we talk, the more progress we make. I’m still optimistic and hoping that we can find a resolution.”

Joe Torre, MLB’s executive vice president for baseball operations, gave a briefing of the first day of meetings.

“A couple of clubs brought up situations, we talked about some replay possibilities, ground rule possibilities, stuff like that,” he said.

“We talked about some international issues, amateur workouts and tryouts and things like that.”

Torre said expanding replay — currently it determines whether home runs clear the fence and are foul or fair — would take some work.

“I think the commissioner hinted at a possible fair-or-foul change. Again, once you make that statement, you start thinking about things that go along with it. If you call a ball foul and the replay shows it’s fair, then where do you put the runners?” Torre said.

“It’s not that easy to just say ‘let’s replay this’ or ‘let’s replay that’ when certain things come up.”

Angels getting new neighbor in 2013?

November 14th, 2011, 2:42 pm · · posted by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Major League Baseball may soon have the same number of teams in each league, as the Houston Astros could be making a move to the AL as soon as 2013.

Prospective Astros owner Jim Crane has agreed to switch leagues, SI.com’s Jon Heyman reports.

Crane still needs the approval of baseball’s other owners. Heyman reports that Crane would get a discount of approximately $50 million to switch leagues, while Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that compensation could be in the $80 million range.

The Houston franchise, formerly the Colt .45s (from 1962-1964) and now the Astros (since 1965), has spent its entire history in the National League. The MLB has featured 14 American League teams and 16 National League teams since the Brewers made the switch from the AL to the NL in 1998, the inaugural season of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Astros will likely join the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the AL West.