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Astros plan to restructure the scouting department with today’s firings
By Eric Huysman
Astros have reportedly fired several scouts.
The Astros have struggled in August to win, but they still have the best record in the AL. They did get shutout yesterday by Patrick Corbin, but the offense came alive in the middle games versus the Diamondbacks. They have some issues in the rotation at the moment, but they have built a strong roster.
Peter Gammons tweeted earlier today that the Astros have fired eight scouts. As Gammons pointed out, the Astros have had a great season with the help of the scouts in the organization. Some of those scouts could have been integral in scouting one of your favorite players.
The Astros did indeed inform several of their scouts today their contracts wouldn't be renewed in October.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 18, 2017
When asked by reporters about the firings, Jeff Luhnow said that they are not cutting back on scouting via Jake Kaplan. Instead, they are restructuring the scouting department. Brian McTaggart did confirm that the several scouts were told their contracts would not be renewed.
Luhnow says the Astros are "reconfiguring" their scouting department. He declined to disclose details of said reconfiguration.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) August 18, 2017
Right after Gammons’ tweet, I saw several people trying to come up with the reasons for the firings. While Luhnow declined to give an details, let’s take a look at some of the suggested motives on Twitter.
Probably not why.
This was not a way to save money to help pay for Justin Verlander‘s contract. The odds of a Verlander trade is not favorable anyway. As Jon Heyman stated, scouts don’t make as much as Verlander. It sounds like they will be replaced.
No, these scouts are not the scape goats for the Astros not making an impact trade at the deadline. The decision to make a trade or not resides with the GM and team owner. Gammons does take a shot at the front office though.
They were not fired because they over evaluated Francisco Liriano. Not saying that one of the scouts that scouted Liriano wasn’t one of those fired. Who knows, what if Liriano becomes the reliever the Astros wanted.
Next: Astros: Winning is Important for the Top Spot in AL
Most likely, the Astros are big in sabermetrics and just decided to hire scouts that fit into their plans. Good luck to those who will be seeking jobs in October. The scouting department has done a good job building the system, they are hoping to continue building. These things happen.