Dana Brown's Astros exit makes the Reds' case to terminate Nick Krall even stronger

On Monday, the Houston Astros and general manager Dana Brown decided to mutually part ways. Brown was a lame duck — entering the 2026 season without a new contract — and the Astros decided to pull the plug a few weeks sooner than most fans expected. Interestingly enough, Houston is very much alive for a playoff spot, and are tied with the Texas Rangers atop the AL West.

But the Astros have been the gold standard in the American League for the last decade. Prior to last season, Houston had made eight straight postseason appearances that included four trips to the World Series and two World Championships.

The Cincinnati Reds haven't even won a postseason series since 1995 and their last World Series appearance came all the way back in 1990 when Lou Piniella's wire-to-wire winners — led by Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, and the Nasty Boys — won the fifth World Series title in team history.

There are undoubtedly a number of fans throughout Cincinnati — if not the majority — that hope to see a similar announcement from the Reds and Nick Krall before the end of the 2026 season. Krall was promoted to president of baseball operations in 2023 and received a contract extension for an unspecified length. 

The Reds' 2026 campaign has been a disappointment to say the least. The Cincinnati faithful had their heart set on a return to the playoffs, but with just over a month remaining in the season, the Reds' chances of playing baseball in October have dipped below 1%.

Reds case to fire Nick Krall got a boost from Astros

Brown's dismissal from Houston shouldn't just spur Cincinnati to oust Krall and start over, but it should force the Reds' leadership to re-evaluate their expectations moving forward.

Astros' owner Jim Crane demands a winner, and moving on from Brown shows that he's serious. The Reds, however, seem content with the peaks and valleys Krall talked about eliminating back in 2022.

Unfortunately, there's been little more than valleys since Krall took over the reins from Dick Williams in 2020, and the lone peak (2025) was heavily aided by the New York Mets' September collapse and a Reds team that squeaked into the playoffs having won just 83 games.

The Reds haven't won 90 games in a season since 2013, and that resulted in Dusty Baker's firing. Cincinnati's leadership should have the same standard now as they did back then.

Crane set a high bar, and Brown didn't meet it. The Castellini's and the rest of the Reds ownership group set slightly-above-average bar for Krall, and he's failed to meet it time and time again. Nevertheless, the results should be the same. The Reds need to follow the Astros lead and move on from Krall.

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