The anticipated news produced decidedly unmixed feelings for Joe Espada, the Astros’ bench coach who worked for Team Puerto Rico in last year’s World Baseball Classic and experienced the pleasure of being Edwin Diaz’s teammate.
“If this trade goes down, I’m excited,” Espada, the Yankees’ former third-base coach, said Friday in a telephone interview. “I’m excited for him, and also that we wouldn’t have to face him next year.”
“This trade” is of course the megadeal that would relocate Diaz and his even better known teammate, Robinson Cano, from the Mariners to the Mets in 2019 in return for five players.