Joe Espada, One Of Two Favorites For Cubs Manager Job, Will Interview With Giants

The Cubs could announce their next manager as soon as Monday, but for now there are two candidates seen as favorites to replace Joe Maddon in the dugout. After interviewing with the Cubs on Monday, Astros bench coach Joe Espada and David Ross appear to be ahead of the pack.

While Ross remains the favorite, Espada certainly made a great impression, as he tries to get his first manager position in the majors.

Via the Chicago Sun-Times.

After an interview Monday with Espada that sources say impressed Cubs executives, insiders suggest it’s a two-man race for the Cubs job, with in-house candidate Ross holding the edge.

NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan reiterated the same on Thursday.

Houston source tells me Astros coach Joe Espada had a sensational interview w/Cubs front office. “He gave Theo + Jed a lot to think about. They really liked him + came away exceptionally impressed. Was it enough to overcome David Ross’s relationship w/Theo and Jed? We’ll see.”

— David Kaplan (@thekapman) October 17, 2019

If Espada turns out to be the Cubs’ number one choice, they’ll have at least one team to compete with for his services. The Giants are set to interview Espada for their open manager position as well.

The #SFGiants have called the Astros for permission to speak to Joe Espada, who is also a candidate for Cubs managing job. SF has a nice list of mostly younger guys.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 17, 2019

Source confirms the Giants plan to interview Astros bench coach Joe Espada for their managerial opening. Espada has already interviewed with the Cubs. @JonHeyman was first with the SF news.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 17, 2019

The Giants were also reportedly interested in interviewing Cubs first base coach Will Venable.

REPORT: Giants Interested In Cubs Coach For Manager Position

Venable also interviewed with the Cubs last week.

Meanwhile, Joe Girardi still seems to be the favorite for the Mets job, while Gabe Kapler might just end up being hired by the Cubs for their amateur scouting department. At this point, that’s just speculation on Kapler, who did interview with the Cubs this week.

The Astros currently have a 2-1 series lead over the Yankees in the ALCS. The World Series begins next Tuesday.

While the Cubs haven’t made a decision on their new manager yet, they did make some changes to their player development department on Thursday.

Cubs Make Big Changes To Player Development Staff

More changes are expected to come in the near future.