The Houston Astros would open the Worms box with this potential hire

Things haven’t gone well for the Houston Astros this year.

Although he was one of the winners of the offseason on paper after signing Josh Hader and extending Jose Altuve, it was a complete disaster on several fronts.

Their starting pitching staff continues to suffer injuries and play poorly, their bullpen has been one of the most disappointing units in the sport, and many of their offensive players have struggled to find consistency.

Much of the blame was placed on first-year manager Joe Espada.

After all, this is essentially the same team that was in the American League Championship Series just a few months ago. The only real difference, besides some roster improvements, is who the skipper is and there appears to be growing unrest in the clubhouse.

If that continues to be the case, two names have been floated by USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale regarding possible replacements for Espada.

One of them was Alex Cora, the current manager of the Boston Red Sox and former bench coach of the Astros.

He was considered one of the game’s brightest minds after being hired by the Red Sox following Houston’s 2017 World Series championship and then winning it with Boston in 2018 during his rookie campaign.

Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn for the worse when it was revealed that he and Carlos Beltran played a major role in the sign-stealing scandal that was a dark cloud over the Astros and continues to be in the eyes of many fans .

Bringing Cora back, as good as he is as a manager, opens a whole new can of worms that this organization may not be ready for.

Houston hired Dusty Baker largely to put that stench of the past behind them and enter a new era.

Hiring Cora would do just the opposite.

Maybe owner Jim Crane doesn’t care and is so willing to keep this championship window alive that he’s OK with any backlash that might come from this decision.

This is certainly an interesting development, though, and it will be up to Espada to make sure he has a job next year.