The Astros announced Tuesday that they will not renew manager Joe Espada’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of the month. Espada, who managed Houston from 2024-26, will become a free agent.

There will be other changes on the staff. Bench coach Omar Lopez will not be back in that role but has been offered another position within the organization. Catching coach Tim Cossins, gameplan coordinator Tommy Kawamura, third base coach Tony Perezchica, assistant hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz will all be replaced next season as well. Houston is retaining pitching coach Josh Miller, first base coach Dave Clark, field coordinator Jason Bell and hitting coach Victor Rodriguez.

Today’s announcement formalizes what had been the widespread expectation for months. The Astros won the American League West for the second time in Espada’s three years at the helm in 2026 but did so by default in what wound up being MLB’s weakest division. Houston’s 81-81 record is the worst ever for a team that qualified for MLB’s postseason, and the ‘Stros were swiftly toppled by the White Sox. Chicago topped Houston 6-3 in Game 1 of the Wild Card round and 7-3 in Game two, securing a two-game sweep in that best-of-three series.

Espada and GM Dana Brown entered the season in the final year of their contracts, and owner Jim Crane dismissed Brown back in August. At the time, he said Espada would remain in place until season’s end, but it’s felt like a dead-man-walking situation with Crane repeatedly being noncommittal about Espada’s future beyond the expiration of his contract.

Prior to being named the successor to retiring manager Dusty Baker, Espada spent six years as Houston’s bench coach, holding that title under both Baker and Hinch. He’s previously served as a third base coach, minor league hitting coach and minor league field coordinator in the Marlins system. Before moving into the coaching side of the game, Espada was a 1996 second-round draft pick by the Athletics who played nine minor league seasons as a middle infielder.

Though his time at the helm in Houston is coming to an unceremonious end, Espada was long viewed as a manager-in-waiting before getting the nod to run the ship in Houston. He has a strong reputation throughout the industry, as evidenced by the fact that he’s already been granted permission to interview for the managerial vacancy with the division-rival Mariners, who are seeking a new skipper after parting ways with Dan Wilson.

If not with the Mariners, Espada should find opportunities elsewhere. There’s no other current managerial opening after the Phillies signed Don Mattingly to a two-year deal earlier this morning, but other clubs looking for experienced coaches or a new voice in the player development sphere could turn to Espada. It’s also common for former managers to land special advisor roles in the front offices with new teams and hold that type of job until a new managerial or coaching opportunity arises elsewhere.

Turning to the coaches who’ve been dismissed, Katz, Iapoce and Cossins will last only one season in Houston. The 43-year-old Katz previously served as a minor league pitching coach with the Angels and Giants and assistant pitching coach with the Giants’ big league club before a five-year run as the White Sox’ pitching coach from 2021-25.

Iapoce, 53, has previously been the hitting coach for the Rangers and Cubs. He’s also held the title of senior hitting coordinator with the Red Sox and was most recently the Tigers’ Triple-A manager (2024) and major league first base coach (2025) before joining the Astros for the 2026 season.

Cossins, 56, spent seven years with the Orioles as their major league field coordinator and as a catching coach before joining Houston’s staff last November. He’d also managed and served as a catching instructor in the Marlins’ system and was a minor league field coordinator with the Cubs, too.

Perezchica, 60, spent two years as the Astros’ third base coach after an eight-year run in the same role with the Diamondbacks. He’d previously been a minor league manager in Arizona’s system and a minor league hitting coach with the Yankees.

Kawamura has spent more than a decade in the Astros system, first joining as a minor league coach in 2016 — just two years after graduating college (where he played four years at Willamette University). He’s worked as an advance scout for the Astros and joined the big league staff in 2023, Baker’s final season on the job. He’d previously interned with the Mets in the year between his college career and being hired full time by the Astros.