The Braves are bringing Dana Brown back into the fold, with Brown set to join the club as a senior advisor in the amateur scouting department, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
It’s a familiar return for Brown, who served as Atlanta’s VP of scouting from 2019 through 2022 before moving on to become the Astros’ general manager. Now he’s back in a setting that should feel comfortable, especially with so many old connections still in place.
Brown’s relationship with Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos goes back a long way. Their history starts in Montreal, where Anthopoulos was Brown’s assistant after Brown was hired as the Expos’ director of amateur scouting in 2002.
Brown kept that job through the Expos’ move to Washington and remained there until 2009, when Anthopoulos - then the Blue Jays’ GM - brought him to Toronto as a special assistant. After Anthopoulos landed in Atlanta following the 2017 season, the two were reunited again within a couple of years.
Brown’s run in Houston came after a rare front office shakeup that followed a World Series title. The Astros moved on from James Click after that playoff run because of clashes with owner Jim Crane, who is known for playing a direct role in baseball operations.
Brown didn’t win a championship in Houston, but his track record was still stronger than what most fired general managers can point to. In three full seasons as GM, the Astros reached the ALCS in 2023 and captured two AL West titles.
They also won the division again this year, though they finished 81-81.
The recent stretch, though, turned rough. Since that 2023 ALCS appearance, Houston has not won a postseason game, much less a series.
After a brief 2024 playoff run and then missing the postseason entirely in 2025, there was growing talk that both Brown and manager Joe Espada were on shaky ground. That chatter turned out to be accurate, with the Astros parting ways with Brown in August and Espada officially dismissed a few weeks ago.
Now Brown lands back with the Braves and a front office full of familiar faces. With his decades of scouting experience, he steps into a role that could look a lot like the one he left behind when he headed to Houston.
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Braves Bring Back A Familiar Name With Big Draft Stakes
The Braves are bringing back a familiar front-office voice as they strengthen their draft and scouting operation. Dana Brown is returning to Atlanta as a Senior Advisor in Amateur Scouting, adding a seasoned evaluator to a department that has long been central to the clubs roster-building approach. Brown previously spent time with the Braves before moving on to Houston, where he eventually became general manager.
His path back to Atlanta comes after his stint with the Astros ended in August 2026, when the two sides mutually parted ways. For the Braves, the move restores a name with deep scouting experience to a role that can matter a great deal when draft season arrives and every decision in the amateur market carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]