September 8, 2026 • 8 mins
Astros manager Joe Espada joined The Dan Mathews Show to share his takeaways from this weekend’s series loss to the Diamondbacks, preview the upcoming series against the Phillies, and lay out his expectations for Carlos Correa’s playing time when he returns from injury.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joe Espada joins us every single week here on the show. Joe,
it's great to catch up with you again. So, obviously,
a rough finish to that series against the Diamondbacks. You
get an off day yesterday. Just where do you feel
like the team is heading into this series against the
Phillies in a really tough stretch for you guys?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, we had a really good 13-game stretch there going
8-5 against some really good teams. I thought we played
really well. An off day much needed, and now we
got two big series, one against the Phillies. And once
against the race, I think we're in a really good spot.
We rested. Hopefully we go out there today and set
the tone early and, and get going.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
So I've talked about it before with you where, I mean,
you've mentioned addressing it with the team about, you know,
knowing exactly what the moment is and trying to be
able to reach that moment. But I'm probably guessing too,
that you don't want to push that button all that often. So,
I mean, you've got a pretty good feeling that these
guys understand what they're up against up in Philly and
then also in Tampa.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yes, I think so. I think we have played really
good baseball the last two weeks. I don't think it
needs to be addressed anymore that we have talked about
it for the last month. I think every game matters.
I think they know exactly what it feels like to
play here in Philly. We play some really good big
games here in Philly, like World Series games. They know
(01:20):
what's at stake, so I expect them to go out
there and play good ball.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
And then, I mean, tons of guys in that clubhouse
who know what this time of year is like. And
then obviously the month following what, what it's like, I mean,
how much do you rely on those guys to kind
of drive the bus?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, 100%. And it's their clubhouse. They understand what it takes.
The young players lean on them. Our veterans lean on
those young players. So the conversations are going right now
in the clubhouse. You know, some of those guys went
out to dinner last night in their off day. So,
you know, they know there's some urgency, and I'm excited
(01:55):
to see them, you know, continue to play hard and
get a good push here towards the end.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Astros manager Joe Espada joins us every single week here
on the Dan Matthews Show Sports Talk 790. You've got
a pretty good one to get your series going, too,
as well with Hayden Wisniewski so far to this point.
Have you been pleasantly surprised by the production that he's
given you, especially coming off Tommy John?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, you know, we know that usually when pitchers come
out of Tommy John, it does take them some time
to get going, but I'm not surprised about his performance
and his success. He's a really good pitcher. When we
see him, when he's healthy, he is really efficient. He
throws a ton of strikes. He can create swing and miss.
He's got the weapons to be top of the order starter,
(02:38):
so we are excited that he's feeling good, that he's
throwing the ball well. It's a pretty good lineup here
in Philly. Mixing, throwing strikes early is very important. There's
a ton of contact. There's some guys that can run.
So I'm excited that he's the one that's going to
get us going since he's been one of the guys
that's really been a force for us the last month,
month and a half.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And obviously you've been using A.J. Blueball a lot more
in high leverage spots. I mean, just kind of speak
to a testament to his season and what he's been
able to do to put himself in that position.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, for me, it's more about his development than just
the season. He's been building towards this for the last
year and a half, and he's been really good against
both righties and lefties. His stuff just continues to creep
up there, which like below is up. Change-up sliders have
been really good against both righties and lefties. So he's
(03:32):
earned his spot in this moment. He can get big
outs in big moments, and I'm going to continue to
rely on him.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And this weekend, you guys sent Carlos Correa out to
West Palm Beach. Have you been able to get any
updates on how he's looked so far?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Very good. Yes, he looks very good. We're starting to do,
you know, everything on the field. Obviously, like, we're in,
you know, he's got his cleats on now, so he's running.
He is hitting on the field. He's doing his defense.
He continues to do very, very well. I'm very happy
where he's at right now in his progress. And every
(04:10):
time he comes in, every morning, if he feels better,
we can increase the volume and activities. So far, so good.
Everything is good.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And I mean, obviously, you want to stay out of hypotheticals,
but I mean, Joe, we both obviously know the player
well enough that he's not going to want to come
back and be a guy that just plays so often.
I mean, he's probably your understanding, too, as well, that
he wants to put himself in position to be an
immediate contributor for you guys.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yes, of course. And I expect him when he comes
back that he will be ready to play every day.
There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Again, Astros manager Joe Espada joins us every single week
here on the Dan Matthews Show, Sports Talk 790. And
we've talked to runners in scoring position situations before. And,
I mean, the White Sox series, you guys were able
to come through in those spots. Last couple of games
against Arizona, a little tougher. I mean, is it just
kind of one of those that sometimes baseball can be baseball,
it gets away from you? Or do you kind of
(05:04):
feel like that sometimes those bad habits are being crept
back into?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
No, I think that we faced some really good bullpens
and really good arms in those Arizona Diamondbacks. And I
thought that we were able to get people on base.
We were able to get a big hit. But I
thought the quality of our bats were good. And we
ran into some really good pitchers at the back end
of our bullpen. I thought we gave ourselves a chance.
(05:29):
And you know, that's something that we'll, we'll continue to reinforce,
continue to talk to the players about. But for me,
it's nothing that right now raises any levels of concern.
It's just hard conversation with these guys just to stay
within themselves and control the things that they can control.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
And I mean, you guys have had Brent Strom around
with the organization for a little under two weeks. I mean,
are you already starting to kind of see some of
his tutelage paying off with the guys and the way
they've been performing on the mound?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, it's just conversations with Charmian and the players. I
think the players... really want to know, you know, you know,
the preparation doing a playoff run, right? Like what do
you see in the dugout? What do you see when
I'm playing catch? Is there anything that I can probably
tweak here to get maybe a little more depth of
my pitch or a little more like that's, that's the
(06:18):
type of impact he's having on our guys. The guys
are always picking his brain. I'm always picking his brain,
just making sure that we're not, we're not missing anything
when we go over, some of our meetings. He raises
some really good questions and we challenge him with some new,
a few things that we have here for him. It's
been a huge impact, you know, just the first 10
(06:40):
days that he's been here. So, you know, really, really
excited to have him.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
And I mean, when it comes to, you know, player-coach relationship,
I mean, whether you're a hitting coach, pitching coach, whatever
your role is on the team, I mean, a lot
of it I've got to believe is probably, hey, these
guys are pros. They know how to prepare themselves. But
I mean, is it Kind of sometimes that maybe you
can see something and you got to kind of pick
and choose your spots of when to bring it up
or how to bring it up?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, you have to. That's what we're here for. I
know these guys are veterans. These guys have been around
for a long time, but we still got to coach them.
There's moments that we need to bring some things up
so we can be better at something. These guys have
always been very coachable. That has never been an issue.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
To get you out the door on this, again, Astros
manager Joe Espada joins us every single week here. Of course,
talking about what this time of year is, and you guys,
two games up on Texas, six up on the Mariners.
Is it kind of a little bit of you approach
these a little bit like postseason baseball, that you kind
of feel like you're already in it and having to
try to get further in it?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
No, definitely we're not in the postseason yet, but you
do treat this game like you are entering a level
of games where every game means something, right? I think
our players understand that. There's more urgency in maybe how
we do things during the game and a little bit
(08:07):
more aggressive in certain areas. But we just need to
take one day at a time. I continue to remind
these guys that stay present. We take care of business
today and then we get ready for tomorrow, tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Just got to stack those days. That's usually how you
get to those points. Again, he's Astros manager Joe Espada.
He joins us every single week here on the show. Hey, Joe,
good luck in this series, and we look forward to
catching up with you again next week.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
All right, fellas. Thank you.
Joe Espada joins us every single week here on the show. Joe,
it's great to catch up with you again. So, obviously,
a rough finish to that series against the Diamondbacks. You
get an off day yesterday. Just where do you feel
like the team is heading into this series against the
Phillies in a really tough stretch for you guys?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, we had a really good 13-game stretch there going
8-5 against some really good teams. I thought we played
really well. An off day much needed, and now we
got two big series, one against the Phillies. And once
against the race, I think we're in a really good spot.
We rested. Hopefully we go out there today and set
the tone early and, and get going.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
So I've talked about it before with you where, I mean,
you've mentioned addressing it with the team about, you know,
knowing exactly what the moment is and trying to be
able to reach that moment. But I'm probably guessing too,
that you don't want to push that button all that often. So,
I mean, you've got a pretty good feeling that these
guys understand what they're up against up in Philly and
then also in Tampa.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yes, I think so. I think we have played really
good baseball the last two weeks. I don't think it
needs to be addressed anymore that we have talked about
it for the last month. I think every game matters.
I think they know exactly what it feels like to
play here in Philly. We play some really good big
games here in Philly, like World Series games. They know
(01:20):
what's at stake, so I expect them to go out
there and play good ball.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
And then, I mean, tons of guys in that clubhouse
who know what this time of year is like. And
then obviously the month following what, what it's like, I mean,
how much do you rely on those guys to kind
of drive the bus?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, 100%. And it's their clubhouse. They understand what it takes.
The young players lean on them. Our veterans lean on
those young players. So the conversations are going right now
in the clubhouse. You know, some of those guys went
out to dinner last night in their off day. So,
you know, they know there's some urgency, and I'm excited
(01:55):
to see them, you know, continue to play hard and
get a good push here towards the end.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Astros manager Joe Espada joins us every single week here
on the Dan Matthews Show Sports Talk 790. You've got
a pretty good one to get your series going, too,
as well with Hayden Wisniewski so far to this point.
Have you been pleasantly surprised by the production that he's
given you, especially coming off Tommy John?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, you know, we know that usually when pitchers come
out of Tommy John, it does take them some time
to get going, but I'm not surprised about his performance
and his success. He's a really good pitcher. When we
see him, when he's healthy, he is really efficient. He
throws a ton of strikes. He can create swing and miss.
He's got the weapons to be top of the order starter,
(02:38):
so we are excited that he's feeling good, that he's
throwing the ball well. It's a pretty good lineup here
in Philly. Mixing, throwing strikes early is very important. There's
a ton of contact. There's some guys that can run.
So I'm excited that he's the one that's going to
get us going since he's been one of the guys
that's really been a force for us the last month,
month and a half.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And obviously you've been using A.J. Blueball a lot more
in high leverage spots. I mean, just kind of speak
to a testament to his season and what he's been
able to do to put himself in that position.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, for me, it's more about his development than just
the season. He's been building towards this for the last
year and a half, and he's been really good against
both righties and lefties. His stuff just continues to creep
up there, which like below is up. Change-up sliders have
been really good against both righties and lefties. So he's
(03:32):
earned his spot in this moment. He can get big
outs in big moments, and I'm going to continue to
rely on him.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And this weekend, you guys sent Carlos Correa out to
West Palm Beach. Have you been able to get any
updates on how he's looked so far?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Very good. Yes, he looks very good. We're starting to do,
you know, everything on the field. Obviously, like, we're in,
you know, he's got his cleats on now, so he's running.
He is hitting on the field. He's doing his defense.
He continues to do very, very well. I'm very happy
where he's at right now in his progress. And every
(04:10):
time he comes in, every morning, if he feels better,
we can increase the volume and activities. So far, so good.
Everything is good.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And I mean, obviously, you want to stay out of hypotheticals,
but I mean, Joe, we both obviously know the player
well enough that he's not going to want to come
back and be a guy that just plays so often.
I mean, he's probably your understanding, too, as well, that
he wants to put himself in position to be an
immediate contributor for you guys.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yes, of course. And I expect him when he comes
back that he will be ready to play every day.
There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Again, Astros manager Joe Espada joins us every single week
here on the Dan Matthews Show, Sports Talk 790. And
we've talked to runners in scoring position situations before. And,
I mean, the White Sox series, you guys were able
to come through in those spots. Last couple of games
against Arizona, a little tougher. I mean, is it just
kind of one of those that sometimes baseball can be baseball,
it gets away from you? Or do you kind of
(05:04):
feel like that sometimes those bad habits are being crept
back into?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
No, I think that we faced some really good bullpens
and really good arms in those Arizona Diamondbacks. And I
thought that we were able to get people on base.
We were able to get a big hit. But I
thought the quality of our bats were good. And we
ran into some really good pitchers at the back end
of our bullpen. I thought we gave ourselves a chance.
(05:29):
And you know, that's something that we'll, we'll continue to reinforce,
continue to talk to the players about. But for me,
it's nothing that right now raises any levels of concern.
It's just hard conversation with these guys just to stay
within themselves and control the things that they can control.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
And I mean, you guys have had Brent Strom around
with the organization for a little under two weeks. I mean,
are you already starting to kind of see some of
his tutelage paying off with the guys and the way
they've been performing on the mound?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, it's just conversations with Charmian and the players. I
think the players... really want to know, you know, you know,
the preparation doing a playoff run, right? Like what do
you see in the dugout? What do you see when
I'm playing catch? Is there anything that I can probably
tweak here to get maybe a little more depth of
my pitch or a little more like that's, that's the
(06:18):
type of impact he's having on our guys. The guys
are always picking his brain. I'm always picking his brain,
just making sure that we're not, we're not missing anything
when we go over, some of our meetings. He raises
some really good questions and we challenge him with some new,
a few things that we have here for him. It's
been a huge impact, you know, just the first 10
(06:40):
days that he's been here. So, you know, really, really
excited to have him.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
And I mean, when it comes to, you know, player-coach relationship,
I mean, whether you're a hitting coach, pitching coach, whatever
your role is on the team, I mean, a lot
of it I've got to believe is probably, hey, these
guys are pros. They know how to prepare themselves. But
I mean, is it Kind of sometimes that maybe you
can see something and you got to kind of pick
and choose your spots of when to bring it up
or how to bring it up?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, you have to. That's what we're here for. I
know these guys are veterans. These guys have been around
for a long time, but we still got to coach them.
There's moments that we need to bring some things up
so we can be better at something. These guys have
always been very coachable. That has never been an issue.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
To get you out the door on this, again, Astros
manager Joe Espada joins us every single week here. Of course,
talking about what this time of year is, and you guys,
two games up on Texas, six up on the Mariners.
Is it kind of a little bit of you approach
these a little bit like postseason baseball, that you kind
of feel like you're already in it and having to
try to get further in it?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
No, definitely we're not in the postseason yet, but you
do treat this game like you are entering a level
of games where every game means something, right? I think
our players understand that. There's more urgency in maybe how
we do things during the game and a little bit
(08:07):
more aggressive in certain areas. But we just need to
take one day at a time. I continue to remind
these guys that stay present. We take care of business
today and then we get ready for tomorrow, tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Just got to stack those days. That's usually how you
get to those points. Again, he's Astros manager Joe Espada.
He joins us every single week here on the show. Hey, Joe,
good luck in this series, and we look forward to
catching up with you again next week.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
All right, fellas. Thank you.
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