Phillies' abrupt Rob Thomson firing should fuel Astros speculation about Joe Espada

The Houston Astros have undoubtedly had a slow start to the 2026 season, but even for the Astros, firing manager Joe Espada this early felt like a mistake. It's why Dana Brown deflected blame off Espada when talking about the Boston Red Sox firing Alex Cora. As much as the Astros want to avoid that speculation, they may not be able to avoid it.

Less than a week after Cora's ouster in Boston, the Phillies fired their manager, Rob Thomson. The Phillies made an overture at Cora, but ultimately handed the job temporarily to bench coach Don Mattingly.

The silver lining for the Astros is that their situation is not as dire as the Red Sox's or the Phillies'. You can't win a division during the first month in the regular season, but the Red Sox are already approaching a double-digit deficit in the American League East as the calendar flips to May. Meanwhile, the Phillies are currently a half-game better than the New York Mets for having the worst record in baseball.

The Astros are the team right ahead of the Phillies, but the silver lining for Houston is that the American League West hasn't moved away from them yet. It's still too early to fully dive into standings, but with moves made by the Red Sox and Phillies, Espada isn't going to escape the hot seat anytime soon.

If the Astros wait too long to act, it'll be too late

When Brown backed Espada earlier this week, he essentially kicked the can down the road. Instead of zeroing in on the results, Brown pointed to injuries and the pitching staff's lack of command as the reason why the Astros have struggled this season.

The problem is that the excuse will eventually wear thin on owner Jim Crane. Crane gets antsy, and when he does, he can be unpredictable. As much as Brown and Espada are trying to bide their time with the hope that the Astros can turn things around, they have once again lost seven of their last ten games. If losing keeps happening, Espada is going to be the first guy to fall for the Astros.

The Astros may pride themselves on not being rash like the Red Sox and Phillies were, but it feels like the writing is on the wall. A regime change is needed in Houston, and it's only a matter of time at this point.

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