Houston Astros Would Open Can Of Worms With This Potential Hire
Things have not gone smoothly for the Houston Astros this year.
Despite being one of the winners of the offseason on paper after signing Josh Hader and extending Jose Altuve, it has been a complete disaster on multiple fronts.
Their starting pitching staff continues to get injured and play poorly, their bullpen has been one of the most disappointing units in the sport, and many of their offensive players have struggled to find consistency.
Much of the blame has been directed at first-year manager Joe Espada.
After all, this is basically the same team who was in the American League Championship Series just a few months ago. The only real difference, besides some roster upgrades, is who the skipper is and there seems to be some growing unrest in the clubhouse.
If that continues to be the case, two names were floated by Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY about possible replacements for Espada.
One of them was Alex Cora, the current Boston Red Sox manager and former Astros bench coach.
He was viewed as one of the brightest minds in the game after getting hired by the Red Sox following Houston's World Series championship in 2017, and then winning it with Boston in 2018 during his rookie campaign.
Unfortunately, things soured rapidly when it was revealed he and Carlos Beltran played a major role in the sign stealing scandal that was a dark cloud over the Astros, and continues to be in the eyes of many fans.
Bringing back Cora, no matter how good of a manager he is, opens up a whole new can of worms that this organization might not be ready for.
Houston hired Dusty Baker in large part to put that past stench behind them and move into a new era.
Hiring Cora would do the complete opposite.
Maybe owner Jim Crane doesn't mind and he's so willing to keep this championship window alive that he's ok with any backlash that would come from this decision.
This is certainly an interesting development, though, and it will be up to Espada to ensure that he has a job come next year.
BRAD WAKAI
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He is also the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai