Report: Astros to part ways with veteran third base coach

The Astros are parting ways with third base/outfield coach Gary Pettis after 10 seasons, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Pettis hasn’t technically been fired, but his contract expired at the end of the 2024 season and will not be renewed for the 2025 campaign.

Pettis, 66, played in parts of 11 big league seasons, spending the bulk of his time with the Angels but also appearing in three seasons as a Tiger, two as a Ranger and one as a Padre. He never provided a ton of offense, hitting .236/.332/.310 in more than 4,200 MLB plate appearances, but he swiped 354 bags and won five Gold Gloves in center field. Those 354 steals are currently tied with Starling Marte for 106th in big league history.

After wrapping up his playing career, Pettis held coaching gigs with the Halos, White Sox, Mets and Rangers from 1995 through 2014. His decade-long stint with the Astros has been the lengthiest stop of his coaching career by far. He’s worked under three general managers (Jeff Luhnow, James Click, Dana Brown) and three managers as well (A.J. Hinch, Dusty Baker, Joe Espada). If he wants to continue his coaching work, he should have ample interest from other clubs given his background.

Moving on from Pettis is, thus far, the only change to Houston’s coaching staff. The club has not yet formally announced its 2025 staff, so it’s possible there will be more turnover revealed in the weeks ahead. 

The 2024 season was Espada’s first year as manager after six seasons as the bench coach — first under Hinch and later under Baker. Espada retained Baker’s entire coaching staff after taking the reins in Houston heading into the current season, with first base coach Omar Lopez being promoted to bench coach duties, replacing Espada in that regard. Dave Clark, who’d been managing in the Astros’ minor league ranks, joined the big league staff and took over Lopez’s duties as first base coach.