The Houston Astros fired bench coach Dave Trembley and manager Bo Porter on Monday, relegating them to fourth place in the AL West and sixth consecutive losing season, respectively. Tom Lawless and Adam Everett were named as their interim replacements. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart has the news.
Porter’s departure is not shocking, but the timing of the decision is odd. Houston has won four of its previous six games overall and is coming off a series in which it defeated the Texas Rangers three games to none. The Astros are currently 59-79, 25 games behind first place, although they were 15-14 in August.
Scott Feldman, a pitcher, expressed his response to the news via Evan Drellich from the Chronicle of Houston:
It is unusual for clubs to fire managers after a victory, and strange in Porter’s case given that he just finished one of his best months in Houston, so it is probable that the plans have been in place for a while. The Astros’ front staff finds it more challenging to implement significant adjustments because they have not had a day off since August 18.
There has reportedly been some conflict between Porter and general manager Jeff Luhnow, according to recent sources. Porter and Luhnow reportedly disagreed over the latter’s managerial style, which would have him “engage in excessive second-guessing” of the manager he recruited in 2012. This was reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Porter reportedly protested to owner Jim Crane after going over Luhnow’s head, according to Rosenthal.
It appeared that Luhnow had confirmed the friction between the two in the statement announcing Porter’s termination.
“Bo’s passion and energy are unparalleled, and his desire to win unquestioned,” stated Luhnow. “The Major Leagues’ present level of competition did not influence my choice. I understand that our win-loss record is primarily the result of an organizational plan that I oversee. Instead, I decided to make this change because I think our clubhouse needs a fresh approach.”
Luhnow later discussed the Astros’ post-move future in greater detail, via Drellich:
Following his dismissal, Porter also issued a statement, which McTaggart reported included the following:
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