The Good the Bad and the Ugly of Joe Espada’s Astros Tenure

The Houston Astros announced Wednesday that Joe Espada’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of the month, will not be renewed. Espada had served as the club’s manager since 2024. He will now be a free agent.

Espada’s career began in 1996 when he was drafted by the Athletics in the second round. He played nine seasons in the minors as a middle infielder. His coaching career began in the Marlins organization as a minor league hitting coach, a field coordinator, and a third base coach. Then he moved on to Houston, but before becoming their manager, he was a bench coach for six years under both Dusty Baker and A.J. Hinch. Then once Baker retired, Espada became their manager in 2024. Now, after just three seasons as the manager, the Astros have decided to part ways with Espada.

A look at Espada’s three seasons as the Houston Astros manager:

2024 SeasonEspada’s first season as Houston’s manager ended with an 88–73 record (.547). The Astros finished first in the AL West and secured a division title. However, their postseason run was cut short when they were swept 2–0 in the American League Wild Card Series.

2025 SeasonIn his second season, Espada led the Astros to an 87–75 record (.537). Houston finished second in the AL West and missed the playoffs, ending the team’s postseason streak.

2026 SeasonEspada’s final season with Houston ended with an 81–81 record (.500). Despite finishing at .500, the Astros won the AL West for the second time under his leadership. However, they were swept 2–0 in the Wild Card Series once again.

Overall RecordAcross three seasons, Espada finished with a 256–229 record (.528), two AL West division titles, and an 0–4 postseason record.

He finished with two AL West titles and led them to their ninth postseason appearance in 10 years. But he was also a part of breaking their streak.

Taking a look at the good. He has had a few young players develop under him, like Lucas Spence and Cam Smith, a Gold Glove finalist. He may not have a strong playoff record with the Astros, but these young players have the potential to be truly great, and the fact that they developed under him reflects positively on the Astros’ former manager.

As for the bad. His postseason record is not great: 0-4. They were swept in the 2024 and 2026 Wild Card series. Not to mention, they completely missed the postseason in 2025 for the first time in eight consecutive seasons. The Astros also had a club record of 19 starting pitchers used in the 2026 season, and the AL lead in walks (650).

Now for the ugly. The Astros had the worst record for a division winner in the history of Major League Baseball (81-81). They won 87 games in the 2025 season and didn’t even make it to the postseason. For the offense, the outfield had a .662 OPS, one of the worst in club history. When August came around, Dana Brown was fired, and Joe Espada’s job was very much on the line.

Aside from a rough three seasons as the manager, Joe Espada spent many years with the Astros organization and had hoped to stay. Unfortunately for him, he will be moving on. His future is still up in the air, but the Astros publicly thanked him for his time.

Now it’s time to look forward and find a new manager for the 2027 season.