Buster Olney of ESPN reports Astros Bench Coach Joey Espada may be a candidate to replace Mickey Callaway as the Mets manager should the team opt to replace him in the offseason. Mike Puma of the New York Post adds to the speculation by noting Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen and Astros manager A.J. Hinch are close friends.
Espada, 44, has been the Astros bench coach since Alex Cora was hired by the Boston Red Sox. In addition to serving as the Astros bench coach, Espada is entasked shifting the Astros infield. This is of no small note as Mark Simon of The Athletic wrote earlier in the year the Astros were one of the best shifting infields in all of baseball whereas the Mets were among the worst.
On the shifting front, an Espada hire could run contrary to the recent philosophy of the Mets that shifting has a negative impact upon the pitching front. If Espada were hired, it would be very interesting to see how the team would balance the two thought processes.
Previous to serving as the Astros bench coach, Espada was a third base coach in the Yankees and Mariners organizations. He was also the third base coach for the 2017 Puerto Rican World Baseball Classic team. It should be noted that team had current Mets Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, and Rene Rivera on the roster, and current bullpen coach Ricky Bones was on that staff as the pitching coach. In addition to these players, J.D. Davis also played under him.
Previous to that experience, he served as a minor league coach and manager in the Athletics, Marlins, Rockies, Royals, Caridinals, and Rangers systems.
If the Mets are looking for a new manager, they will join the Royals, Giants, and Padres as teams also looking for a new manager. So far, we have heard names like Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran, Bruce Bochy, Mike Matheny, Phil Nevin, Buck Showalter, Ron Washington, and others for those jobs. As the offseason begins to unfold, we should hear more candidates and more managerial openings emerge.
