Astros hire new director of hitting from Guardians, but MLB insider smells a rat

According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic (subscription required), the Houston Astros have hired Conner Watson to take over as the new director of hitting. He'll replace Dan Hennington who left to take a coaching job with Wake Forest University earlier this year.

Watson was the Cleveland Guardians assistant director of hitting for the past two seasons and is deeply rooted in analytics. This would seem to be a bit of a pivot in terms of philosophy, but it continues a curious pattern for Astros owner Jim Crane who hired Spencer Medick to be Houston's director of hitting just last week.

The Astros have yet to hire a replacement for departed general manager Dana Brown and their managerial vacancy is still open as well. Inquiring minds, like FanSided's MLB insider Robert Murray, are asking the right question: What's the rush?

"I think these are good hires by the Astros," Murray said during the Baseball Insiders podcast. "But hiring guys without a GM in place feels really weird. Especially when you had Matt Kleine being seen with Jim Crane out in public at one of these events, and then you're interviewing Mike Rizzo, and you're still talking to some other people."

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Murray went on to say that Kleine, the Milwaukee Brewers assistant general manager, is in a "good spot" to take over for Brown. But he couched those comments by saying it's not a guarantee. Murray wasn't able to divulge additional names, but suggested that Kleine and Rizzo aren't the only two in the running.

"It's very strange hiring so many people without a leader in the front office. And that's something I've had other people across baseball mention to me," Murray said. "It's not going to prevent them from hiring somebody who's very good, but still, it's raising some eyebrows."

This is nothing new for Crane. The Astros owner is known to march to the beat of his own drum, and after a quick exit from the postseason this year, he appears to be ready to right the ship — and fast.

Both Watson and Medick are analytically inclined, so it stands to reason that Crane's vision for the organization moving forward will be centered around this type of philosophy. Given the recent string of success from teams like the Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays, an emphasis on analytics seems like a wise path to take.

At the end of the day, it's Crane's franchise and he has the right to move forward with hires as he sees fit. But it doesn't mean the process itself can't be questioned.

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