Houston Astros Dismiss Ed Wade, Tal Smith

The Houston Astros significant changes continue, as the club announced the dismissal of two front office executives.  General manager Ed Wade and long-time president of baseball operations Tal Smith were relieved of their duties.  Astros assistant GM David Gottfried will take over as interim general manager, but he is not a candidate for the permanent position.  The search for the Astros new GM is set to begin “immediately”.

Just last week Jim Crane officially became the new owner of the Houston Astros.  Along with the change in ownership, it was made official that the Astros will be joining the American League West division in 2013.

After taking over the reins in Houston, Crane let reporters know that significant changes were on the horizon.  In regard to the dismissal of the front office executives, Astros president and CEO George Postolos said that the club “would like a fresh start in baseball operations”.

Postolos indicated that the Astros will begin their search for their next general manager “immediately”.  During said search, the Astros will be looking “for a candidate who has the knowledge, skills and experience to build a winner and strong commitment to player development in order to sustain success”.  As is the goal of most franchises, the Astros hope “to consistently compete for a championship” and in order to do so they will attempt “to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball”.

Smith, who had been the Astros president of baseball operations since 1994, had been in or around the organization since 1960.

Wade had been the Astros GM for four seasons.  During his tenure with the club, Wade’s Astros only finished above .500 one time, in 2008.  The team hit a new low last season, losing a club record 106 games.

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