Joe Espada Officially Introduced as Houston Astros Manager
It was thought for a while that the Houston Astros had Dusty Baker's replacement on the bench already. Joe Espada is a popular figure in their clubhouse and seemed like the obvious choice to take over for Baker whenever that time came.
Then, after the season, general manager Dana Brown was tasked with undergoing his first managerial search since he took over in January of 2023.
With Baker retiring, it seemed like an easy choice for the Astros to hire Espada.
However, Brown was adamant about not rushing the process and was rumored to be interested in the likes of Craig Counsell and others.
Yet, MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that Houston was set to promote Espada from bench coach to manager on Monday.
And that's exactly what happened.
Espada was officially introduced as the next manager of the Astros, becoming their 20th full-time manager in franchise history.
"This is a very exciting day for me and my family. I want to thank [owner] Jim Crane and the Crane family for this incredible opportunity. I'm humbled by this. This is a dream come true. I just can't express my feelings about how happy I am to stay home and get to manage this team," the former bench coach said at the press conference.
Espada was in that role under both A.J. Hinch and Baker, the two previous managers who each won a World Series championship with the organization.
There will be a lot of expectations placed on the first-year manager to keep this team afloat as contenders.
Brown was searching for someone he felt he would work best with moving forward and landed on Espada to be his guy.
"This is probably one of my biggest hires of my career and it brings a lot of excitement to me. I appreciate Jim Crane allowing me to lead the charge and I continued to keep him updated on what my thought process was and where we were going in this direction," the GM said.
With the manager officially hired, the front office can turn their attention to adding players and making sure they truly stay contenders.
