When the first betting odds came out for who would replace Joe Maddon in Chicago, it was bench coach Mark Loretta at the top of the list. Maddon himself was actually second at that time, just ahead of David Ross. The landscape has changed significantly over the last 10 days, with Loretta sliding back as Ross jumped to the front of the line.
Far more interesting than that, however, is the shift that has taken place among the other names on the list, most notably Joe Espada. Currently serving as AJ Hinch’s bench coach in Houston, Espada spent several years at various levels of the Marlins organization and even served as a special assistant to Brian Cashman in New York before a period as Joe Girardi’s third base coach.