Astros Fire Assistant GM Brandon Taubman After Roberto Osuna Comments

The Houston Astros have fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman in the wake of his comments to a group of female reporters about closer Roberto Osuna.

Houston announced it terminated Taubman's contract Thursday, via MLB.com's Mark Feinsand:

According to Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein, Taubman was in Houston's locker room Saturday celebrating the team clinching a spot in the World Series with a 6-4 victory over the New York Yankees when he turned to a group of three female reporters. 

"Thank God we got Osuna," he yelled at them. "I'm so f--king glad we got Osuna!"

The Astros initially released a statement disputing Apstein's account of the events, calling it "misleading and completely irresponsible." They claimed "an Astros player [Osuna] was being asked questions about a difficult outing" and Taubman was supporting the player and didn't direct his comments at the female reporters. 

However, after letting Taubman go, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told reporters "[the Astros] were wrong to ever issue the original statement" because Taubman lied to the team about the incident.

Per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, multiple eyewitnesses corroborated Apstein's account of events and said one of the reporters "was visibly shaken by the comment" by Taubman. 

Taubman issued a statement Tuesday in which he apologized if anyone was offended by his comments and still claimed the situation had been "misrepresented":

"This past Saturday, during our clubhouse celebration, I used inappropriate language for which I am deeply sorry and embarrassed. In retrospect, I realize that my comments were unprofessional and inappropriate. My overexuberance in support of a player has been misrepresented as a demonstration of a regressive attitude about an important social issue. Those that know me know that I am a progressive member of the community, and a loving and committed husband and father. I hope that those who do know me understand that the Sports Illustrated article does not reflect who I am or my values. I am sorry if anyone was offended by my actions."

Per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Major League Baseball announced an investigation into the incident that includes interviewing those involved before making an official comment. 

Osuna, who gave up a game-tying two-run homer to DJ LeMahieu in the top of the ninth inning against the Yankees, was acquired by Houston in July 2018.

The 24-year-old was serving a 75-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy at the time of the trade following a May arrest in which he was charged with assaulting a woman. 

Last September, the charge against Osuna was dropped when the complainant—with whom Osuna has a son—declined to travel to Canada from Mexico to testify. Osuna also agreed to a deal that would require him to stay away from the woman for one year and continue to attend counseling. 

Taubman had worked with the Astros since 2013 when he was hired to their baseball operations department. He was promoted to assistant general manager prior to the 2018 season.