The Houston Astros officially named Joe Espada as their new manager on Tuesday. Espada, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, takes over from Dusty Baker, who retired on October 25 at the age of 74. This is Espada’s first managerial job.
Prior Coaching Experience with the Marlins
Espada began his professional coaching experience with the Florida Marlins’s organization. He was the Marlins’s hitting coach of the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League (A Ball in 2006), and the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League (A Ball in 2007). Then in 2008 and 2009, Espada was the Marlins’s minor league infield co-ordinator. From 2010 to 2013, Espada was promoted to the big club and became the Marlins’s third base coach.
Moving to New York
Esprada apparently had the chance to stay with the Marlins’s organization for the 2014 baseball season as the manager of the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins A ball affiliate). However, he turned the Marlins down for a chance to be the special assistant to the New York Yankees. After one year helping general manager Brian Cashman, Espada was the infield coach and third base coach of the Yankees from 2015 to 2017.
Member of the Astros for six years
Since 2018, Espada has been a regular member of the Astros organization. He has held the position as bench coach in that time. In 2022, Espada was part of the Houston Astros franchise that won the World Series. Houston beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
No Major League Games as a Player
Espada has no major league playing experience. He was in the minor leagues in the organizations of the Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers.
Family Link to MLB Manager
In an interesting note, Espada has a family link to Baltimore Orioles manger Brandon Hyde of Santa Rosa, California. Espada’s wife is the sister of Hyde’s wife according to the New York Times.
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