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The Houston Astros need a new manager, and one MLB insider believes Joe Espada and Brad Ausmus are the prime candidates. Dusty Baker surprised the baseball world by announcing his retirement following the ALCS loss, and now the team will need a new skipper.
There are plenty of candidates who could take over, but Bob Nightengale named Brad Ausmus and Joe Espada as potential replacements. They both have connections to the job.
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Nightengale said on X, formerly known as Twitter:
"Brad Ausmus and Joe Espada will be strong candidates for the Astros' managerial opening. Ausmus finished runner-up to Dusty Baker as manager, and also a runner-up to Dana Brown as GM."
Clearly, Ausmus is familiar with the Houston Astros and the team is familiar with him. They interviewed him for two roles before, so it would make perfect sense if he was on their shortlist the second time around.
Brad Ausmus or Joe Espada could take over Astros job
Brad Ausmus is a former MLB player. He spent time with the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, and the Houston Astros themselves as a player. He eventually retired and went into coaching.
He has experience as a manager, with the Tigers. He was also an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics. He was last with the A's in 2022 as an assistant.
Joe Espada is also a former player who's been involved with a lot of MLB coaching staffs. He has been an assistant with the Miami Marlins, New York Yankees and Astros as well, so he's familiar with the team.
He doesn't have managerial experience like Ausmus does, but he has plenty of coaching experience. Before he joined the Yankees, the Marlins wanted him to be a manager but he passed on the job to go to New York.
Now, he could be on the shortlist for replacing World Series-winning manager Dusty Baker. The Astros skipper is retiring after a long run in baseball, which includes the last four years in Houston.
