Former Astros general manager Dana Brown defends Jeff Bagwell, says he's 'a good baseball man'

In his second media interview in three days, Dana Brown , who was dismissed as Houston Astros general manager Aug. 24 , stood up for Jeff Bagwell, Jim Crane and Joe Espada .

Speaking with A.J. Pierzynski , Erik Kratz and Scott Braun on Tuesday's episode of "Foul Territory," Brown made it clear he had no hard feelings about the people trying to keep the Astros in first place in the American League West , especially Bagwell, the senior advisor for the franchise, who works closely with Crane, the team's owner, on baseball decisions.

"Jeff Bagwell's a good baseball man," Brown said in the 16-minute interview. "I have no problems with Jeff Bagwell. I love talking with Jeff. We have some great conversations."

Bagwell, a Hall of Famer for the 15 years he manned first base for the Astros , has become a bit of a divisive figure among fans concerned about his influence in front-office decisions. After general manager James Click was let go shortly after the team won the 2022 World Series, Bagwell and Crane orchestrated many of the moves that offseason, including signing first baseman José Abreu and reuniting with reliever Rafael Montero and outfielder Michael Brantley . Neither Abreu or Montero made it to the final season of their three-year contracts and Brantley was able to play just 15 games after signing his deal.

With Brown gone, Crane has taken over baseball operations with Bagwell working with the team's three assistant general managers to take over Brown's duties until the next general manager is in place.

"No one's going to bat 1.000 when you're trying to sign players," Brown said. "I talked to Jeff often. I would get his baseball opinion. He's a good man to have around. I thought we had a good group of guys. I'm out the door, it didn't work out, but I thought Jeff gives really good input. I really feel good about his baseball knowledge and his wisdom. He knows a lot about makeup and what it takes to win. Just a good man to have around. I have all good things to say about Jeff. I enjoyed my time with him and I loved our conversations. Always good baseball conversations."

As he did when he appeared on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio channel with former big-league general managers Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on Sunday, Brown praised Crane for giving him a shot at being general manager.

"Jim Crane's a good owner to work for, he's very supportive, he spends money, but he has high standards, so you've got to bring your A game," Brown said. "I felt like we had our A game, but sometimes it's just not enough. But it's a good organization to be in, a great fan base, a good city. It's all good and that's why good things happen here."

Espada, who entered Tuesday with a record of 245-216 (.531) in his nearly three years as Astros manager, is on the final year of his contract, just like Brown was when he was dismissed. While Espada's future is up in the air, Brown says he's "a good manager."

"I think he's (a) ballplayers' manager. I think guys like him and I think guys respond to him and I think he's still growing as a manager," Brown said. "I've got good things to say about Joe. We had a great relationship and he's a winning manager."

Although it seems like Brown is on a media tour since his firing, he says he's done with interviews for a while, saying, "I'm on with you guys and then I'm probably shutting it down for the rest of the time, until maybe something good happens with me and my career."