The long-anticipated development finally came to pass: the Astros have decided to move on from Joe Espada and are now in the market for a new manager.
As much as I don’t like hearing someone lost their job, it’s been clear for a while that Espada wasn’t likely to return. While Jim Crane is unpredictable and you couldn’t entirely rule out a return, Espada managed the 2026 season on an expiring contract alongside Dana Brown. The only difference was that Espada outlasted Brown and finished out the season with the Astros. Espada was also granted permission on Tuesday to interview with the Mariners for their managerial opening, further solidifying the notion that he was on his way out of Houston.
With Espada gone, the coaching staff will face significant upheaval, but perhaps not as much as one might expect when a manager is fired.
The curious part is Omar López’s future with the club. It feels like only a matter of time before he’s managing somewhere in baseball. Add to that the fact that multiple coaches are staying, which makes you wonder whether López will be considered for a managerial role with the Astros. But given this organization’s unpredictability, it wouldn’t surprise anyone that any new manager would have to accept some of the existing infrastructure when filling out their staff.
It’s worth noting that while Ethan Katz is departing after just one year with the organization, Josh Miller is staying on as the pitching coach. Not a surprise, since Brent Strom was brought back as a consultant late in the season and appears to be returning for 2027. Miller, after all, worked for Strom when the latter was the pitching coach through the 2021 season.
Espada’s tenure with the Astros, dating back to 2018, draws to a close, with multiple golden-era highs along the way. While we can certainly nitpick his decisions across three seasons as manager, and there are worthy instances, poor roster construction has hamstrung him on multiple occasions. But the time felt ripe for a change with a new general manager incoming in the offseason. Letting that new GM pick their own manager was the right decision and now allows Espada time to determine his next role. Someone will hire him to manage again, sooner or later.
Feature photo from Astros on X
