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Coaching Notes: Counsell, Astros, Rays

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Brewers manager Craig Counsell just wrapped up the final year of his contract in Milwaukee, prompting widespread speculation that he could depart his hometown team after nine years in the club’s dugout. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported this evening that the Mets have “a reasonable chance” of prying Counsell away from his longtime team, though Heyman added that a source connected to the Brewers indicated that the organization believes he’ll remain with the team as long as he gets paid “what he believes is fair.”

Heyman adds that negotiations between Counsell and the Brewers have seemingly not yet progressed at this point, though as previously reported, Counsell won’t have the option to speak to other teams until November. While Counsell, who lives year-round with his family in the suburbs of Milwaukee, has strong ties to both the are and the Brewers organization, Heyman notes that the Mets have potential advantages in newly-hired president of baseball operations David Stearns and, perhaps more importantly, the reported ability to offer Counsell a significant raise; Heyman relays that a source suggested the Mets could offer Counsell double his 2023 salary with Milwaukee of $3.5MM.

A consensus top-tier manager in today’s game, Counsell would surely attract interest from other clubs if he was willing to depart Milwaukee; the Guardians, Giants, and Angels all have managerial openings of their own. Whether Counsell eventually ends up staying with the Brewers, headed to the Mets, or somewhere else entirely, Heyman notes the Mets are still proceeding with their managerial search in order to ensure they have options outside of Counsell.

More coaching notes from around the game…

  • One candidate for the Mets Heyman floats is Astros manager Dusty Baker, though his connection of Baker and Queens appears to be purely speculative. That said, Heyman does suggest that Baker is “frustrated” over disputes with the front office regarding analytics. Baker’s decision to use Martin Maldonado as the club’s primary catcher rather than rookie Yainer Diaz as an example of a situation where GM Dana Brown’s front office has butted heads with the dugout. Baker, for his part, has managed in Houston for four seasons on a series of one-year pacts and was noncommittal regarding whether he planned to manage beyond 2023 when asked earlier this year. If the Astros do go in another direction for the manager’s chair after this season, Heyman speculates that bench coach and longtime managerial candidate Joe Espada would be a “logical replacement” for Baker in the Houston dugout.
  • The Rays announced today that first base coach Chris Prieto and assistant hitting coach Dan DeMent will not return to the club’s coaching staff for the 2024 season. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times adds that the Rays are expected to consider both internal and external candidates as they look to replace Prieto, though DeMent will not be replaced on the staff. Topkin notes that with hitting coach Chad Mottola and assistant hitting coach Brady North already in place, the Rays felt a third hitting coach “proved unwieldy.” The only other change in the club’s coaching staff Topkin relays as expected is the departure of process and analytics coach Jonathan Erlichman, who Topkin adds is moving to another position in the organization, though that position has not yet been disclosed.

Astros Finalize Coaching Staff

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The Astros announced this evening they’ve finalized their coaching staff for the 2023 campaign. It’ll be Dusty Baker’s fourth season running the show as the Astros look to defend their World Series title.

One previously unreported addition is the tabbing of Tommy Kawamura as game planning coach (h/t to Mark Berman of Fox 26). Formerly a member of the team’s advance scouting department in the front office, Kawamura makes the jump to the dugout. It’s a newly-created position for the Astros that’ll presumably increase Baker’s ability to match up with the opposition.

The rest of the staff returns, most in their previous roles. Joe Espada is back for a sixth season as bench coach. Alex Cintrón and Troy Snitker return as co-hitting coaches; Jason Kanzler will be their assistant hitting coach, his second season on staff. Bill Murphy and Josh Miller will split pitching coach duties for the second straight year. Gary Pettis and Omar López will serve as base coaches, with Dan Firova and Michael Collins also remaining on staff.

There’s a strong amount of continuity with the group, as they return in hopes of backing up their championship. Houston made some key front office changes at the start of the offseason, but the non-playing field staff is back completely intact with the addition of Kawamura.

Omar Lopez To Remain With The Astros

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Astros’ first base coach Omar Lopez will return to the coaching staff next season, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. It will be Lopez’s 25th year with the franchise, and comes shortly after bench coach Joe Espada’s reported agreement with the franchise.

Lopez played three seasons of minor league baseball with the White Sox and the Diamondbacks before joining the Astros organization in 1999. He then spent the next eight years working as a scout and as a hitting and infield instructor in Venezuela, being one of the scouts to recommend Jose Altuve to the organization.

In 2008, he transitioned to a coaching role and led Class-A Quad Cities River Bandits until 2018. During that time, Lopez worked with former Astros’ shortstop Carlos Correa and starter Lance McCullers Jr. as they worked their way through the team’s system. Lopez would continue to Double-A Corpus Christi for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, earning the Texas League Manager of the Year award in 2018, before eventually joining Houston in 2020 as their first-base coach.

Joe Espada To Remain In Houston

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Astros Bench Coach Joe Espada will return to Houston for the 2023 season, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Espada had recently interviewed with both the Marlins and the White Sox in their managerial searches but did not receive either role.

A second-round pick in the 1996 draft by the Athletics, Espada played nine minor league seasons, topping out in Triple-A before transitioning to coaching. Espada has been with the Astros since 2017, joining the club after spending time with the Marlins and the Yankees.

Over the past few years, Espada has been a managerial candidate for a handful of teams. Since 2018, he has been linked to leading roles with the Rangers, Cubs, Mets, and Giants, along with the more recent openings with the Marlins and the White Sox.

White Sox No Longer Considering Joe Espada In Managerial Search

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Astros bench coach Joe Espada is no longer a candidate to become the next White Sox manager, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports.  Espada was reportedly a finalist for the Marlins’ job before Miami hired Skip Schumaker earlier this week, and he hasn’t been linked to the Royals, the only other team still looking for a new manager.  As a result, it looks like Espada will again come up short in a bid for his first Major League managerial job, after previously being considered by such teams as the Mets, Giants, Athletics, Twins, and Cubs over the last few seasons.

The 47-year-old Espada has been Houston’s bench coach for the last five seasons, the Yankees’ third base coach/infield coach from 2015-17, and the Marlins’ third base coach from 2010-13.  Prior to his first big league posting, Espada also worked as a coach and coordinator for several years in the Marlins farm system.  There has been speculation that the Astros might’ve been grooming Espada to step into their managerial post if Dusty Baker wasn’t retained or if the 73-year-old Baker decided to retire, but since Houston is reportedly interested in bringing Baker back in 2023, Espada might have to wait at least one more year if the Astros job is indeed a possibility.

Espada, Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol, and former White Sox and Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen are the only candidates confirmed to have interviewed for the White Sox job.  Reports surfaced last week that the Sox had interest in speaking with Guillen about a possible return, and NBC Sports Chicago’s Chuck Garfien reported that Guillen’s interview took place last Monday.

Beyond that trio, interim manager Miguel Cairo and Braves third base coach Ron Washington were also known to be under consideration, though it isn’t known if the Sox have actually spoken with either candidate.  One would imagine Cairo has already met with the team at some point in the last few weeks, since as Merkin notes, White Sox GM Rick Hahn said during his season wrap-up press conference on October 3 that Cairo would get an interview.

With this uncertainty still surrounding the search, it isn’t known if the White Sox have any other interviews lined up, or if they’re approaching any sort of “finalist” stage.  It is possible the Sox might be waiting until the World Series is over (or at least for the Series’ scheduled off-days on October 30 or November 3) to make an official announcement, if they are indeed close to a decision.

Marlins Down To Four Managerial Finalists

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11:30am: Heyman tweets that the Marlins have narrowed the group down to four and expect to make a decision soon. Heyman tweets that the Marlins have narrowed the group down to four and expect to make a decision soon. Raul Ibanez was interviewed early in the process but is not among the four, Heyman adds.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald reports that former Mets skipper Luis Rojas, who’s currently the Yankees’ third base coach, also secured a second interview, suggesting that he’s the fourth (and apparently last) finalist in the mix for the job.

9:37am: The Marlins are continuing to narrow the field in their search for manager Don Mattingly’s successor and have deemed a handful of names to be finalists in their search. Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and Astros bench coach Joe Espada are among a “small field” of finalists in Miami. Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker to the list of finalists.

Both Quatraro and Espada were considered finalists in last offseason’s Mets managerial search, before the team ultimately hired a more experienced option in the form of veteran Buck Showalter. The Marlins, it seems, are taking a different approach; the entire group of known candidates to have interviewed in Miami would be first-time managers at the big league level. Quatraro and Espada have both interviewed with at least five teams for managerial vacancies in recent years.

Schumaker, meanwhile, is a fast-rising name in the coaching ranks himself. The former big league utilityman was playing in the Majors as recently as 2015 and landed his first Major League coaching gig when the Padres named him first base coach in the 2017-18 offseason. San Diego eventually elevated him to the unusual title of “associate manager,” before the Cardinals, for whom he played eight Major League seasons, tabbed him as their new bench coach a year ago. Along the way, Schumaker has also interviewed for managerial vacancies with the Mets and Red Sox.

Other names known to have interviewed thus far include Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol and Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan. Braves bench coach Walt Weiss reportedly declined an opportunity to interview, though the fact that there was even interest suggests that the Marlins aren’t dead-set on hiring a rookie skipper. Weiss spent four seasons as the Rockies’ manager from 2013-16.

Marlins Managerial Rumors: Espada, Quatraro, Weiss

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TODAY: Braves bench coach Walt Weiss turned down an interview request from the Marlins, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.  Weiss posted a 283-365 record as the Rockies’ manager from 2013-16, and he just completed his fourth season as Atlanta’s bench coach.  A 14-year Major League veteran best known for his time with the great Athletics teams of the late 80’s and early 90’s, Weiss spent a season with the Marlins in 1993, playing on the team’s inaugural roster.

OCTOBER 20: Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro have landed a second interview for the vacant Marlins managerial post, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid. It was reported last week that Espada was interviewing for the position for the first time, but it’s the first reporting of the Marlins interest in Quatraro. Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol is the other known interviewee, although it’s unclear if he was asked back for a second time. Mish notes that a number of additional interviews have not been reported, so while there may well be a number of other candidates in play, the fact that Espada and Quatraro are interviewing a second time indicates they are starting to narrow down their search.

Both Espada and Quatraro have long been viewed as managers-in-waiting, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggests Quatraro could also be in the mix for the vacant Royals, White Sox and Rangers jobs. Espada, meanwhile, has already interviewed for the White Sox position.

It’s not the first season that Espada, 47, has drawn managerial interest. The Puerto Rico native has been a respected member of the Astros coaching staff since 2017, and has had interest from the Mets, Cubs, A’s, Twins and Giants in recent years.

Similarly, Quatraro, 48, is heading into yet another off-season where his name is heavily linked with managerial posts. The A’s, Giants and Pirates were linked with Quatraro in recent years, while it was reported he was a finalist for the Mets position last year before they opted for Buck Showalter.

White Sox Interview Joe Espada In Managerial Search

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The White Sox interviewed Astros bench coach Joe Espada today as part of their managerial search, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Chicago has also reached out to Braves third base coach Ron Washington, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN (on Twitter). It isn’t clear whether Washington plans to interview.

Espada becomes the second known candidate to sit down with Chicago. ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reported last week that Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol also had an interview set up with the Sox at some point. Both Espada and Grifol also interviewed for the Marlins vacancy this week, and the latter is a candidate to assume Kansas City’s vacant managerial position as well.

The 47-year-old Espada has never managed in the majors, but he’s certainly drawn a fair bit of interest on that front. The Puerto Rico native was reportedly a finalist in the Mets search that eventually led to Buck Showalter last winter, and he’s gotten past looks from the A’s, Giants, Cubs and Twins, among others. While he’s not gotten a managerial nod, Espada has held the bench coach role for a number of excellent Houston teams going back to 2018. He’s worked under both A.J. Hinch and Dusty Baker, demonstrating the value multiple skippers have placed on his input.

Over the weekend, Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote that the Sox preferred to hire a veteran manager to replace Tony La Russa. The interviews with Grifol and Espada suggest they’re not ruling out first-time candidates early in the process, at least. Still, it’s notable that Washington does have a fair bit of experience in the role. He managed the Rangers between 2007-14, leading Texas to back-to-back AL pennants in 2011-12. The 70-year-old has spent the past six seasons on the Atlanta staff as Brian Snitker’s third base coach.

Marlins Interview Joe Espada, Pedro Grifol For Manager

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The Marlins will interview Astros bench coach Joe Espada for their vacant manager position today, Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets. He’s the second known candidate to interview, after The Athletic’s Jim Bowden tweeted that Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol had also interviewed with the Marlins.

Espada, 47, was drafted in the second round of the 1996 draft by the Athletics and spent nine seasons in the minors. He made it as high as Triple-A but never got received a call up to the major leagues. After retiring in 2007, he quickly turned to coaching and held coaching and front office positions with the Marlins and Yankees before being named Astros bench coach in 2017.

Espada is a well respected member of the Astros coaching staff and has long been considered a manager in waiting. He’s already been interviewed by numerous major league teams and was a finalist for the recent Mets and Giants vacancies.

He’ll join Grifol as the only other known candidate to have an interview. It had already been reported that his current employers, the Royals, as well as the White Sox have interest in him, but the Marlins are the first known team to have given him an interview. Grifol, 53 next month, has followed a similar career trajectory to Espada. He spent nine seasons in the Mets and Twins minor leagues systems without reaching the majors, but has found success as a coach. He’s been with the Royals since 2013 but, like Espada, has been a candidate for a number of vacant managerial posts, including the recent Tigers and Orioles positions.

The Marlins are seeking a new manager after mutually agreeing to part with Don Mattingly at the end of the 2022 season. Mattingly led the team for seven seasons, but their 31-29 finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season was the only time they had a winning record during his tenure.

Astros Announce Coaching Staff

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The Astros announced the addition of minor league hitting coordinator Jason Kanzler to the big league staff in an unspecified coaching role. The 31-year-old, who spent three seasons in the Twins system as a player, has spent the past three years coaching Astros minor leaguers.

Otherwise, the bulk of Dusty Baker’s staff remains the same. Houston announced the returns of bench coach Joe Espada, hitting coaches Alex Cintrón and Troy Snitker, base coaches Omar Lopez and Gary Pettis, and quality assurance coach Dan Firova in the same positions. Espada, who has spent the past four seasons on the Astros coaching staff, interviewed with the Mets and A’s for their managerial vacancies this offseason but will return to Houston after those respective jobs went to Buck Showalter and Mark Kotsay.

It seems the role of pitching coach will be filled jointly by Josh Miller and Bill Murphy, last season’s bullpen coach and assistant pitching coach, respectively. Longtime Houston pitching coach Brent Strom stepped down at the end of the season, eventually taking on the same role with the Diamondbacks. At the time, Strom suggested the club should turn to Miller and Murphy as his replacements, and that’s the course of action the team will take. It’s theoretically possible Houston adds some additional help for the pitching staff — the team’s announcement didn’t explicitly state that the staff had been finalized — but it seems more likely Miller and Murphy will just take on the responsibilities Strom left behind.

In addition to the tinkering on the coaching staff, Houston announced a few front office hires. The Astros confirmed the previously-reported hiring of Sara Goodrum as director of player development. They also hired a pair of new assistant general managers. Former Angels director of baseball operations Andrew Ball — who had once worked alongside Astros general manager James Click in the Rays front office — and former Dodgers director of quantitative analysis Scott Powers will both join Pete Putila as AGM’s in Houston. The club also announced a handful of promotions within the scouting and player development departments.

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