Former Astros mastermind just stole reliever Shawn Dubin off waivers

The Houston Astros have benefitted greatly from having some of the best minds in baseball in their front office over the years. While they aren't quite at the forefront of the analytics revolution, Houston still continues to prioritize bringing top front office talent to run the organization.

The downside to all of the Astros' success is that other teams notice and end up scooping up some of those decision-makers who are looking to advance their careers. Sometimes, this course of events ends up coming back to bite Houston.

Mike Elias quickly established himself as the Astros assistant general manager after a very successful stint as scouting director. Houston was in the early stages of their dynasty and it looked like they were going to be unstoppable.

Astros lose Shawn Dubin to waiver claim by the Orioles

Unfortunately, Baltimore decided to make their move to get in on what the Astros were doing and ultimately hired Elias away to be their GM and executive vice president.

Losing smart people means that the Astros can't get away with some of their usual tricks as the Orioles claimed Shawn Dubin after Houston tried to get him through the waiver wire.

In all seriousness, losing Dubin isn't that big of a deal. He'd already fallen out of favor with the team as his struggles persisted and he dealt with multiple injuries this season. Coming off a mediocre 2024 season, Dubin posting a 5.61 ERA in 23 appearances this season wasn't exactly ideal and made him extremely expendable.

Still, heading into the stretch run, Houston probably preferred to keep Dubin in the minor leagues just in case. If for no other reason than their familiarity with him. Unfortunately, Elias was very familiar with Dubin given that he drafted him and, and just like that, he's gone.

With Dubin off the roster and Josh Hader on the IL, the Astros' bullpen depth is beginning to look kind of dicey at the moment. Hopefully the team will take advantage of September roster expansion and bring up some reinforcements. If the Astros are hoping that they can find more help on the waiver wire, they may have to tangle with their former executive for the same types of players they like.

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