Former Houston Astros Bench Coach Becomes Second-Highest Paid Manager

One of the Houston Astros past bench coaches has now signed a deal to make him the second-highest paid manager in Major League Baseball.

Apr 6, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) talks with the media prior to the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Saying the Houston Astros have had success for a long time would be an understatement.

Since 2017, they have completely dominated the sport on their way to setting an American League record with seven consecutive ALCS appearances, making four World Series trips and winning two championships. They've also won six out of seven division titles during this span, with their only second place finish coming during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

That's why it was so shocking to see this group struggle for the majority of this year.

They've stabilized things and are now back at the top of the AL West, but for a long time many people were wondering if they would have to sell off some of their assets at the trade deadline if they were still under .500.

Because of that, a lot of criticism was being placed on first-time manager Joe Espada.

It's never easy to take over for a legend, but not only did he have to follow Dusty Baker who won a World Series with this franchise, he also had to follow AJ Hinch who won before Baker took over for him.

When Houston was struggling with largely the same players on the team, Espada was the scapegoat.

It even got to the point where some people in the baseball world were suggest the Astros might move on from him after one season and turn to their former bench coach Alex Cora to come in and take over the job when his contract with the Boston Red Sox expired at the end of this year.

Cora was with Houston when they won the World Series in 2017, leaving to become manager of the Red Sox in 2018, but it was revealed he was a major part of the cheating scandal that rocked this franchise, so bringing him back would have felt a bit strange.

The Astros wouldn't have been able to pursue their former bench coach even if they wanted to, though.

Buster Olney of ESPN reported that Boston and Cora have agreed on a three-year extension that will pay him $21.75 million. This will make him the second-highest paid manager in the MLB behind Craig Counsell of the Chicago Cubs who signed a $40 million deal this past offseason.

Houston is likely very happy with Espada, so this news didn't affect them one bit.

He'll attempt to keep his team heading in the right direction as he pursues his first AL West crown that will secure their fourth in a row.