Ever since the sign-stealing scandal cost A.J. Hinch his job as Astros manager in early 2020, bench coach Joe Espada has seemingly been the heir apparent. Despite not being elevated after Hinch’s dismissal, the hiring of 70-year-old Dusty Baker signaled that the organization wanted an experienced hand guiding the club through the treacherous waters that lay ahead, and that once the storm had been weathered, the much younger Espada would be promoted. Based on Baker’s one-year contract (with a club option for 2021), that appeared to be the plan.
Two deep postseason runs later, the status quo is changed.