Espada Misses Out On Another Manager Opportunity 

Joe Espada seemed to have many qualities the White Sox were looking for in a manager. But according to White Sox beat reporter Scott Merkin of MLB.com, Espada is no longer a candidate. 

This report comes days after the Marlins hired Skip Schumaker over Espada. The Astros bench coach was reportedly one of three finalists for the position before the Marlins eventually settled on Schumaker. Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro was another finalist for the Marlins job. The Royals just hired Quatraro to be their manager. That makes Espada the only one of those finalists without a manager job. 

Espada being ruled out makes you wonder if he is just really bad at interviews considering all the opportunities he has had. The White Sox are the last team looking to hire a manager, so with them off the table, Espada will have to wait at least another year to finally get his chance. Many assumed the Astros were grooming him to take the reins from the 73-year-old Dusty Baker. However, after another World Series appearance, the Astros are trying to bring Baker back. 

Espada also had interviews with the Mets, Giants, Athletics, Twins, and Cubs last season but could not land any jobs. This has become somewhat of a curious trend. 

The former minor league shortstop has some of the best credentials of any coach on the market. He has served as the Astros bench coach for the last five seasons. During his time as bench coach, Espada has had a front-row seat for five consecutive ALCS appearances. 

Before getting his feet wet as an MLB coach, Espada built up an impressive resume in the minor leagues. He came up as a coach in the Marlins organization, serving as the hitting coach at Class A Greensboro in 2006 and Class A Jupiter in 2007. The Puerto Rican native later served as Miami’s third-base coach from 2010-2013 before taking a job with the Yankees as special assistant to general manager Brian Cashman. He was named the Yankee’s third-base coach before the 2015 season.

Espada, Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol, Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza and former White Sox and Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen are the only candidates who have confirmed to have interviews for the White Sox job.