Morosi: What makes Joe Espada a fit as Mariners’ next manager

What at first may have appeared as a case of keep your friends close and your enemies closer has become a real possibility now that former Houston Astros manager Joe Espada is one of two main finalists for the Seattle Mariners’ open managerial job.

Two Mariners manager candidates set for in-person interviews

Espada and Chicago Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler are set to have final interviews for the job this week, signaling Seattle’s search for Dan Wilson’s replacement is nearing its end.

Since president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said the club would prefer its next manager to have previous experience, Espada would appear to have the upper hand over Kanzler from resume standpoint. But why would the M’s want to hire a manager their division rival just let go? MLB Network insider Jon Morosi was posed that question when he joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Tuesday.

“I think for the Astros, it was as much just needing a big reset and then of course also changing at the at the top for them,” Morosi said referencing Houston’s midseason firing of general manager Dana Brown. “The Astros are going through the GM search, too. Famously, the owner (Jim Crane) can be challenging to work for, as we have seen in some of the other things where James Click brought his team to the World Series and was then let go. So, I think that it has probably more to do with where the Astros are as an organization then it does with Joe Espada’s ability and tactical ability to run a game.”

Espada led Houston to two division titles over his three seasons as manager, which followed six years as the club’s bench coach under AJ Hinch and Dusty Baker – a stretch that included three World Series appearances and one title. However, the second of his division titles could largely be contributed to a historically bad American League West, as the Astros set an MLB record for being the first .500 worse team to win a division during a full season in league history.

But one thing that gives Morosi confidence that Espada could do more with the Mariners than he did the Astros is the pitching staff Seattle has. Pitching was a major weak point for the Astros this past season after they let ace Framber Valdez walk during free agency, dealt with multiple injuries and saw their big offseason pitching acquisition, Tatsuya Imai, struggle to make the adjustment from pitching in the NPB to pitching in MLB.

“Trust me, (if) Joe Espada steps into the Seattle Mariners’ managerial job, he’s gonna look at that rotation and say: Oh my gosh, where were these guys last year? And the answer is on the other team,” Morosi said. “So, I think if he gets the job, I think Espada will be much more effective in Seattle.

“He’s a good communicator. I’ve always enjoyed being around Joe. He gets a lot of high marks for how he communicates. He’s been around the game for a long time, coached for the Yankees. A lot of good experience there with Joe Espada.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

Seattle Mariners news and more

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• Insider reports potential Mariners’ manager hire timeline

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