Astros owner Jim Crane says team’s playoff berth will factor into decision on manager Joe Espada

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Astros owner Jim Crane said Monday the team’s playoff berth will be “something to consider” when deciding on the future of manager Joe Espada, whose contract expires after the season.

Crane said there have been no discussions about the possibility of a new deal for Espada recently and they’ll sit down and talk about things when the season is over.

As for whether Houston winning the AL West to reach the postseason after missing out last year would have any bearing on the decision, Crane had this to say: “All positives are positives,” he told The Associated Press. “All negatives are negatives. So I think that would be something to consider when we make the decision.”

Espada’s future with the team remains in question after the Astros parted ways with general manager Dana Brown last month. Crane doesn’t believe the move had an impact on how the club finished the season.

“I don’t think it had a lot to do with what happened, you know, whether we won or we lost,” he said. “It was a courtesy actually to give him some time because we weren’t going to renew his contract. I made a decision that we weren’t going to renew his contract, so I wanted to give him time to regroup and we knew we had enough coverage from the other three guys.”

After Brown’s departure on Aug. 24, assistant general managers Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff, along with senior adviser Jeff Bagwell, took over his responsibilities.

There have been questions about how things have worked after the unorthodox move to part ways with a general manager while a team was in playoff contention.

“I guess they’re working pretty good — we got into the playoffs,” Crane said with a laugh. “I think everything’s fine. We’ve got a number of assistant general managers filling in, and so our communication is good. Everything’s running smooth, ready for a win.”

The Astros became the first team in MLB history to make the postseason without a winning record by finishing 81-81 to outlast the Texas Rangers and move on to the Wild Card Series.

They’ll host the Chicago White Sox in a best-of-three matchup beginning Tuesday.

The Astros are in the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years, a remarkable stretch in which they reached the ALCS seven straight times from 2017-23 and advanced to the World Series four times, winning championships in 2017 and 2022.

“We’ve always said we’re here to win and we’re here to make the playoffs and make a deep run in the playoffs, and we’ve done that consistently,” Crane said. “So getting in the playoffs is a big deal. If you don’t, you don’t have a chance.”

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