The Houston Astros are facing another layer of uncertainty as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaches, and this one has nothing to do with a bat or an arm.
Dan Hennigan, the biomechanics-minded offensive coordinator who has become a major part of Houston’s turnaround at the plate, has an offer to leave the organization for a job at Wake Forest University, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions. Hennigan has not accepted the position, one source said, but talks have taken place and the Astros have made efforts to keep him.
The timing adds another wrinkle for a front office already working through change. General manager Dana Brown is in the final year of his contract, and it is unclear how much authority he has to make decisions with long-term consequences. Even so, Brown is expected to steer Houston’s deadline plans, with the club looking for help in the outfield, bullpen and possibly the starting rotation.
Owner Jim Crane remains part of the baseball operations picture as well. He called pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. last week and asked him to waive his no-trade clause, a reminder that the Astros’ decision-making still runs through more than one set of hands.
Hennigan has quickly become a trusted voice inside the clubhouse. He has worked closely with veteran hitting coaches Victor Rodriguez and Anthony Iapoce, a trio Christian Walker described as a “three-headed monster.” Rodriguez, Iapoce and Hennigan all joined Joe Espada’s revamped coaching staff this offseason.
His role has gone well beyond the title. As offensive coordinator, Hennigan has helped lead Houston’s pre-series preparation with advance scouting coordinator Ricardo Lizarraga, gathering the data that gets pushed to the team’s group chat each night.
“The info is good,” Walker said in April. “It’s efficient.
We’re not getting overloaded. We talked a lot during spring (training) about ‘What do you need to see before a game?’
I think what we’re getting is just a blend of all this information.”
Hennigan’s original job description did not call for him to be in uniform or in the dugout during games, but that changed after input from Espada and players. He has been on nearly every road trip and is now a regular presence in the dugout.
He was with the Astros at Rate Field on Friday and was seen working with hitters in the batting cages before Houston opened its series against the Chicago White Sox. Hennigan, who also runs the Brain and Barrel Hitting facility in Pennsylvania, which opened in 2018, declined to comment.
Wake Forest already has a connection to Houston’s player-development world. Last year, the school hired Astros director of pitching Eric Niesen as its pitching coach, and Hennigan briefly overlapped with Niesen in the Astros system.
Brown had already managed to hold off at least two other major-league teams this offseason to keep Hennigan in Houston. Whether he can do it again is unclear.
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