Although the Houston Astros haven't announced any new managerial hires for their open positions, it looks like their former manager might be a real option for a division rival.

The Astros decided not to renew the contract of manager Joe Espada a couple of weeks ago, and it's still up in the air where the next manager is going to come from. The Seattle Mariners, on the other hand, have moved much further ahead in their manager search.

Espada is now reportedly a finalist for the Mariners' open managerial position, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It seems like the Mariners have been quite interested in the former Astros skipper, so much so that he was the first manager name linked to Seattle, even two days before Houston announced it won't be bringing him back, per MLB.com.

This unexpected move that the general public will likely be surprised to hear. Espada was not the first name most would have believed to be the next Mariners manager, yet he's in the thick of the process.

The 51-year-old is now one of at least two candidates that is meeting the Mariners front office at T-Mobile Park this week for in-person interviews regarding the vacancy, according to MLB.com.

Espada is scheduled to meet along with Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler. Former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was also scheduled, but he has since withdrawn due to family considerations, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

This will be the third round of interviews for Espada, as virtual meetings were held earlier this month. These in-person meetings will also include the coaching staff that has been retained. Espada spent three seasons as the Astros' manager, which included two American League West titles in 2024 and 2026.

The Mariners won the 2025 division title en route to Game 7 of the ALCS. Seattle is quite familiar with playing against Espada, but now it gets a good look at him potentially managing the club in 2027. Espada's Astros struggled mightily against the Mariners over the past three years, with a poor 12-25 record.

2026 was especially lopsided, with the Astros having just a 3-13 record overall. Espada was the Astros' bench coach from 2018-23 and was promoted when former manager Dusty Baker retired.

Kanzler, one of Espada's competitors for the job, was also on Baker's staff in 2022 during the World Series title season. The Mariners are potentially looking at two former Astros for their next manager. Kanzler is a different kind of option due to the fact that he has no managerial experience.