Joe Espada Is Managing for His Job Against the White Sox

Houston is in the playoffs, and its manager still doesn't know if he'll be back. Joe Espada's contract expires when the Astros' season ends, and owner Jim Crane said Monday there haven't been any recent talks about a new one.

Will winning the AL West help Espada's case? "All positives are positives," Crane told The Associated Press. "All negatives are negatives. So I think that would be something to consider when we make the decision."

It's a noncommittal answer from an owner who has already shown he'll make changes in the middle of a race. Crane let general manager Dana Brown go on Aug. 24. He called it "a courtesy", saying he'd already decided not to renew Brown's contract and wanted to give him time. Assistant GMs Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff, along with senior adviser Jeff Bagwell, have run baseball operations since.

"I guess they're working pretty good. We got into the playoffs," Crane said with a laugh.

They got in by the slimmest margin possible. Houston finished 81-81, the first team in major league history to reach the postseason without a winning record, and held off Texas on the last day. It's the Astros' ninth playoff trip in 10 years.

Now they get the White Sox in a best-of-three series in Houston. Game 1 is Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET and Game 2 is Wednesday at the same time, both on Peacock and NBCSN. For Espada, a good run might be the best argument he can make.