Astros GM delivers a harsh, blunt message to Josh Hader and Houston’s bullpen

In 2022, the Houston Astros were celebrating a World Series championship. Two years later, Astros general manager Dana Brown is fielding questions about dismantling the team with a fire sale before the trade deadline.

The Astros have fallen to a 12-22 record, third-worst in the American League. Brown isn't ready to give up on the roster, however. During an interview with Brian Kelly on "MLB Now," Brown claimed he can't envision trading away star players at the deadline.

“No, I can’t envision [becoming sellers],” Brown said. “I think this ballclub, it’s too good. We have a really good rotation, we have a really good bullpen. ... With that said, I think the production’s coming. I think our guys are true professionals. They’re good players. I can’t predict any scenario where we become sellers. I think the team is too good."

Of course, the Astros will be a better team if players start playing better. Every team in every sport can say the same thing. Whether they will play better — or can play better — is an entirely different matter.

Astros manager has harsh message for his bullpen

Climbing out of the doldrums won't be easy if they don't start turning things around soon, and Brown didn't hold back when addressing the state of the Astros' bullpen.

"Our guys understand where they are at this point," Brown said. "They have to turn a corner and suck it up."

Houston entered Tuesday with a 4.75 ERA, fifth-highest in the majors. It's not the start that Houston envisioned for the 2024 MLB season, especially after adding Josh Hader to a super-powered bullpen that already featured names like Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu.

Hader has been one of the most dominant relievers in baseball, and he was expected to be a dominant closer for the Astros in 2024. When he signed with Houston, he said the trio would be "scary." And, perhaps, he was right — it's been scary, but mostly just for Houston. The trio has struggled early in the season. Hader and Pressly have ERAs over 5.000, while Abreu looks nothing like the reliever who recorded a 1.75 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 72 innings in 2023.

With underwhelming performances from Hader, Pressly, and Abreu, the spotlight has been placed on Houston's lack of depth in the middle innings. During the offseason, the Astros lost a combined 185 innings from their bullpen with Héctor Neris, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek signing with other teams. Kendall Graveman suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, leaving Houston even thinner.

Brown defended his hope in the team by pointing to his final year as the scouting director for the Atlanta Braves in 2022. That season, Atlanta was 10½ games behind the New York Mets at the start of June before taking the lead in the NL East in October.

“It’s a long season," Brown said. "I’m reminded of when I was in Atlanta and we were down 10 games in June to the Mets and we ran them down. So I don’t see any chance of us becoming sellers. I think the team is too good. And if guys start to turn the corner, good things will happen."

Still, the Astros have nearly three months to turn things around. Otherwise, Brown may be singing a different tune at the trade deadline on July 30.