Astros first move after World Series win was incredibly obvious

The Houston Astros made their first official move of the offseason, and it was the most obvious of all moves.

It was three times the charm for the Houston Astros. In their third trip to the World Series after their 2017 win, the Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to earn their second ever Commissioner’s Trophy. They have an important offseason ahead of them to try and keep them in contention in the American League in 2023. Their first move, well, was an obvious one.

The Astros announced on Wednesday that they have signed manager Dusty Baker to a contract extension. The deal is for one more season.

Astros: Dusty Baker given contract extension for 2023 season

This was a no-brainer.

After the sign-stealing scandal was unveiled by MLB, owner Jim Crane parted ways with manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired for their involvement. After a managerial search, Houston hired Baker to be Hinch’s replacement. Baker had not been a manager since 2017 with the Washington Nationals.

In his first year with the team, Baker led the team to within one win of the World Series, but fell short in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays. The following year, the team won the AL pennant, but fell to the Atlanta Braves in six games.

In 2022, the Astros had the best record in the AL, and the Astros did not lose a game until Game 1 of the World Series to the Phillies. They had swept the Seattle Mariners in three games in the ALDS and the New York Yankees in four games in the ALCS.

Baker won the World Series for the first time as a manager, his 25th season to be exact. He had previously won the World Series back in 1981 as a player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In his three years with the Astros, Baker accumulated a 230-154 record in the regular-season, and a 28-14 postseason record.

Houston, Dusty is back. Now the real question is whether general manager James Click will return.