Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
The first known candidate to advance to the second round of the Giants’ managerial hunt has done a lot of winning this season.
Joe Espada, the Astros bench coach, told reporters in Washington that once this whole World Series thing finishes, he will head to San Francisco for another interview with the Giants. A day earlier, word spread Ron Wotus was not given a second shot.
Espada first talked to Farhan Zaidi over the phone, then on a travel day and now will for a third time once Astros-Nationals gets settled. In a search that began with Zaidi declaring there was no favorite, Espada has begun to emerge. He was a finalist for the Cubs job and has been in the mix for Pittsburgh’s opening, but he has zeroed in on the Giants.
“You want something, you go get it,” he told The Athletic.
Who will join Espada for the next round of interviews is not yet known. In the reported first-round mix was returning bench coach Hensley Meulens, A’s quality control coach Mark Kotsay, Royals quality control coach Pedro Grifol, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and Cubs first-base coach Will Venable.
Between Espada’s presence and MLB not wanting outside announcements distracting from the World Series, the Giants are not all that close to officially deciding who will succeed Bruce Bochy. Espada, a 44-year-old from Puerto Rico formerly with the Marlins and Yankees, will have his foot in the door.