Astros' Brandon Taubman's Job Status Under Scrutiny After Roberto Osuna Comments

The Houston Astros are reportedly evaluating the job status of assistant general manager Brandon Taubman on the heels of controversial comments he made regarding closer Roberto Osuna after the Astros eliminated the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Major League Baseball is also investigating the circumstances surrounding Taubman's comments.

Sports Illustrated reported this week that during the celebration after the Astros eliminated the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS, Taubman yelled, "Thank God we got Osuna! I'm so f--king glad we got Osuna!" toward a group of female reporters, one of whom was wearing a purple bracelet for domestic violence awareness.

Osuna was suspended 75 games last season for violating MLB's policy against domestic violence. Charges against Osuna were dropped when the woman involved refused to testify, however.

Taubman's comments came after Osuna blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning of Game 6 against New York thanks to a two-run home run by Yankees first baseman DJ LeMahieu. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to send Houston to the World Series.

The Astros supported Taubman in a statement and called the Sports Illustrated report "misleading and completely irresponsible." The Astros added: "An Astros player was being asked questions about a difficult outing. Our executive was supporting the player during a difficult time. His comments had everything to do with the game situation that just occurred and nothing else."

However, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reported eyewitnesses said there were "no players in the area and no interviews were being conducted at the time."

Per Olney, the Astros' statement "infuriated" MLB officials and galvanized them to get to the bottom of the situation by interviewing those who were present.

Taubman has been part of the Astros organization since 2013 and previously served as the team's director of baseball operations with an emphasis on analytics.

The Astros fell behind 2-0 to the Washington Nationals in the World Series on Wednesday. Houston will look to cut the series deficit to 2-1 when it travels to Washington, D.C., to face the Nats in Game 3 on Friday.