A's Coach Mark Kotsay Joins Long List of Astros' Managerial Candidates

The Houston Astros find themselves without a manager due to the aftermath of their sign-stealing scandal. There have been a handful of candidates with varying degrees of experience, and on Sunday, a new addition was added to the list, en route from a division rival.

According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Oakland Athletics quality control coach and former MLB player Mark Kotsay was interviewed for Houston's vacant managerial position last week.

As recapped by McTaggart, Kotsay is one of nine current candidates for the position, a list which includes the likes of Dusty Baker and Buck Showalter.

Kotsay is not new to the managerial search. This offseason, he interviewed with the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates, but lost out on both jobs.

After retiring as an MLB player in 2013, Kotsay joined the San Diego Padres (2015) and Athletics (2016-present) as a coach, but has no experience as a manager.

It's interesting how many candidates the Astros are interviewing this offseason, but it's for a good reason. Given the electronic sign-stealing controversy that has tainted their 2017 World Series title and the reputation of their organization, owner Jim Crane wants to hire the right guy to weather the storm.

Could Kotsay be that guy? Who knows. But given that Spring Training is less than three weeks away, a decision will be coming shortly.