The Houston Astros will not retain Joe Espada as manager, the team announced Wednesday, dismissing him after three seasons in the role and at the start of a transformational offseason for the franchise.
The decision arrived two weeks after the Astros were swept in the wild-card round by the Chicago White Sox and follows the dismissal of former general manager Dana Brown in August. Espada and Brown were in their final years under contract. Officially, the Astros said they will not renew Espada's contract, which expires at the end of October.
In a statement, Astros owner Jim Crane said the team was "thankful for Joe's hard work, his passion for the game, and for his commitment to the Houston Astros. He represented the Astros and the Houston community in the most positive way. We wish he and his family the best moving forward."
Houston reached the playoffs twice in Espada's three seasons as manager, including this year by winning the American League West with a record of 81-81. It did not record a playoff win in either of those years, however, getting swept at home in wild-card series in 2024 and '26.
Espada, 51, was promoted to manager after six years as Houston's bench coach before the 2024 season by Brown. Crane, who has overseen baseball operations since dismissing Brown, will seek replacements for both now.
From their coaching staff, the Astros announced that they will retain pitching coach Josh Miller, first-base coach Dave Clark, major-league field coordinator Jason Bell, hitting coach Victor Rodríguez and bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte.
Omar López, who served as Espada's bench coach and has held multiple roles in Houston's system, was offered an opportunity to stay in the organization in a new role, the Astros announced. The team didn't clarify if that is a coaching role.
Houston will not bring back catching instructor Tim Cossins, third-base coach Tony Perezchica, assistant hitting coach Anthony Iapoce, assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz or game planning coach Tommy Kawamura, the team announced.
The Astros compiled a 256-229 regular-season record in Espada's three seasons as manager, winning two AL West titles. Their streak of eight straight postseason appearances ended in 2025, when they went 87-75 and finished one win shy of making the AL playoff field.
Houston's regular-season win total fell this year for a fourth consecutive season. To what extent Espada was responsible for that is debatable. The Astros carried baseball's seventh-highest opening day payroll, per the Associated Press, but their roster displayed myriad deficiencies.
The Astros' pitching staff posted the seventh-highest ERA in the majors. Their outfielders ranked second-to-last in OPS. They used a franchise-record 19 different starting pitchers. Six pitchers acquired by their front office on major-league deals last winter compiled a 5.52 ERA for them.
Houston fielded the majors' sixth-oldest offense by batters' average age, per Baseball Reference. Its upper-level depth proved suspect, as the club backfilled its outfield and pitching staff with numerous waiver claims, minor-league signings and call-ups over the course of the season.
With those flaws, the Astros rebounded from a 20-31 start to win the AL West for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons. But they finished with their fewest wins in a full-length season since 2014, the last year of a rebuild, when they amassed 92 losses.
After Dusty Baker vacated the managerial role following the 2023 season, the Astros promoted Espada from bench coach to manager. It was the first managerial job in affiliated baseball for Espada, who had held a variety of coaching and front-office roles with the Marlins, Yankees and Astros.
The Astros started 12-24 in Espada's first season at the helm but recovered to finish 88-73 and win the American League West. Houston was eliminated in the AL wild-card round by the Tigers, however, and failed to reach the playoffs in an injury-marred 2025 campaign.
The Astros played most of the 2025 season without slugger Yordan Alvarez, who returned to compile a likely Most Valuable Player season this year. Key position players Jeremy Peña, Isaac Paredes and Jake Meyers all played fewer than 130 games due to injuries in 2025.
That prompted Brown to promise a "deep dive" into the injuries last offseason. The Astros hired a new director of sports medicine and performance, and a new major-league strength and conditioning coach, and replaced their head athletic trainer.
Still, the Astros were hit hard again by injuries early this season. On April 21, they had an MLB-high 16 players on their injured list, including ace Hunter Brown, closer Josh Hader, Peña and starters Cristian Javier and Tatsuya Imai. Carlos Correa suffered a season-ending ankle injury in May.
Imai was among a series of ill-fated pitching additions Houston made in the offseason that contributed to the pitching staff's turnover and walk rate, which ranked second-highest in baseball. Just nine teams scored fewer runs from Aug. 1 through the end of the regular season, as well.
In 2024, Espada was credited with remaining steady and helping guide the Astros back from their poor start. They achieved a similar turnaround this year, but it was not enough to prevent a change.
"He showed up every day wanting to win," second baseman Jose Altuve said of Espada after the Astros' playoff exit. "I think he did everything he could to keep us there to keep winning."
Houston now must decide on its direction, with an aging core, a heavy payroll and a poorly rated farm system. Crane has stated that the team's contending window will never close in his tenure, raising the question of how the club will proceed this winter and beyond.
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Houston Astros won't bring back Joe Espada after three seasons as manager, 2 wild-card losses.