Plus: Fundamentals to be a focus
Of the eight new managers set to take over teams in 2024, there's not one in a better position to succeed than Joe Espada. He inherits a team with one of the best rosters in the American League and poised to make yet another deep run into the postseason, which typically isn't the case for first-year managers. The transition from Dusty Baker, who retired following last season, to Espada should be a seamless one considering Espada spent the previous six seasons as bench coach, both under Baker and A.J. Hinch. They both won World Series titles with the Astros, and now it's up to Espada to help keep the good times rolling in Houston. Espada, who was hired by general manager Dana Brown on Nov. 13, has spent the last three weeks connecting with players who already know him well. He's assembled a coaching staff -- Omar López was promoted to bench coach and Dave Clark returns to the organization as first-base coach -- and he said Monday at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., that he can't wait to get to Spring Training. |
"I think our team is dynamic. It's an elite team," he said. "I think my job is going to be just making sure that these players are in a position to succeed, making sure I communicate with them their roles and where we stand as an organization. And I think it's just taking the field and playing hard, that's who we are. I think the players expect and know that's what I'm going to ask from them. When it comes to philosophy, anything like that, it's just putting players in a position to succeed, and you're going to see an exciting team on the field." Here are Espada's thoughts on some topics he addressed at the Winter Meetings: Q: What made López the choice to take over for you as bench coach? |
Espada: "I had some conversations with Dana, and Omar obviously was on the top of my list. Just the incredible human that he is, his knowledge of the game, the way he has managed every player in that clubhouse. I think it was an easy choice when we came down with who are we going to name to be the bench coach. I need someone who I can trust, and I can trust Omar. He's an incredible coach, also someone who cares about the Astros organization, been with us for 25 years. Once we realized that Omar was the right guy for the job, we gave him a call, and he was so excited that he's getting this opportunity." Q: How do you plan to split playing time for Yordan Alvarez between left field and designated hitter? Espada: "I think that's going to just kind of grow and see where we are at in Spring Training. Obviously, we'll see how health and protecting him [factor in to] keeping him in the lineup for as many games as we can. So we'll look at all those things. But I know Yordan likes to be in the outfield, and it's important for us to open that DH spot for some other guys that can benefit from that DH. So having Yordan play some left will help our club." Q: José Abreu may be a guy who could benefit from DHing a couple of times a week. If you wanted to DH Abreu, whom could you maybe play at first base? |
Espada: "I think not only José, but I think there's some players that could benefit from DH. There's some stretches where I think that we can be flexible and get some guys off their feet. But I think José can take the majority of those reps at first base. He played a heck of a first base last year. We're looking at who can back him up there. I really expect him to have a really good year next year, and any conversations with him, he's taking some strides on his body and things that he's doing differently, and I'm really optimistic that he's going to have a really good year next year." Q: Do you think it was the back injury that really limited Abreu for the first three or four months of last year before he took off in September? Espada: "I think so. I think José came in and he's a guy that plays every single day. He's a gamer. I think he wanted to do that. He probably played through some nagging injuries and stuff like that, but a lot of respect for what he did and how he went about it. Once he took that little breather, we saw a different guy. But I expect him to come to Spring Training ready to go." |
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Espada has a chance to become the third consecutive Astros manager to win a World Series title (Hinch in 2017 and Baker in 2022). Which franchise was the last to have three managers in a row win a World Series title? |
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When meeting with the media on Monday, Espada stressed a need for the Astros to play better fundamental baseball, including running the bases better and holding runners better, which is something they struggled with last season with the implementation of the pitch timer. Brown echoed those sentiments a day later when he talked about wanting to shore up fundamentals. "We made some baserunning mistakes and you guys are definitely aware of that -- so that's definitely an area of fundamentals that we have to get better at," Brown said. "We've got to give the catcher an opportunity to throw out these baserunners. Guys are stealing more now; the stolen bases are up. So we have to get back to the basics on holding runners and being a little quicker to the plate. "So those are two key areas that we will talk about. I think our guys are capable. Sometimes in baseball, because there's so many games, you just have a lapse. You forget about it. But I think our guys are definitely capable of doing it. They understand the importance of it. And I think they're going to be OK with making those adjustments." |
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The Orioles, with Hank Bauer (championship in 1966), Earl Weaver (1970) and Joe Altobelli (1983). |
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