Astros Manager Facing Immense Pressure To Find Success on Field This Season

The Houston Astros have been the gold standard in baseball for about the last decade.

They have made the postseason in nine out of 10 seasons after missing for nine straight years from 2006-14. When they hired A.J. Hinch to take over as manager following parts of two seasons under Bo Porter, the team took off.

In his first year at the helm, the Astros won 86 games and made the postseason, losing in five games to the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS.

After missing the playoffs in 2016, an incredible streak began in 2017 as the Astros cemented their status as the cream of the crop in the MLB.

They would advance to the ALCS for seven straight years. On four occasions, they won the pennant and advanced to the World Series.

In 2017, they won their first title and brought home a second in 2022. They were defeated in 2019 and 2021.

All streaks eventually come to an end; you just don’t want to be the manager when it happens.

That was the case for Joe Espada, who took over the team in 2024 after Dusty Baker was the manager for four seasons following Hinch's being relieved of his duties following the sign-stealing scandal.

The team found plenty of success in the regular season under Espada, winning 88 games and taking home the AL West division title for the seventh straight 162-game campaign.

Unfortunately, their ALCS streak was snapped. Coincidentally, it was Hinch and his new team, the Detroit Tigers, who defeated them in the ALWC in two games.

There is a lot of pressure on Espada, who has been with the organization since 2018, to oversee a good product on the field.

That is why Will Laws of Sports Illustrated placed him in the “Critical Juncture Ahead” tier of his MLB manager job security rankings.

“But if the Astros dynasty officially ends this year with an October spent out of the playoffs, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Houston go in a different direction for its next phase,” Laws wrote.

The foundation of the dynasty certainly began to show some cracks during the ALWC loss to the Tigers. Further damage was done of keeping up the level of performance the franchise has become accustomed to this offseason with the loss of a lot of talent.

Two homegrown stars, third baseman Alex Bregman and right fielder Kyle Tucker, are not returning.

Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox in free agency, while Tucker was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

Veteran relief pitcher Ryan Pressly eventually joined him on the Cubs, being dealt in a separate deal. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi put a dent in their starting pitching depth, signing deals with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels.

It isn’t Espada’s fault that so much talent was lost. He has his work cut out for him with the team entering a transitional phase.