The Texas Rangers opted to keep most of their coaches for 2027. That doesn’t mean they can’t take a promotion.

Per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Rangers bench coach Luis Urueta is among those being interviewed for the Houston Astros managerial opening. Now that the franchise has hired a new general manager in Randy Flores, the Astros can move on to finding a replacement for Joe Espada.

Urueta is a little busy right now. He’s managing Aguilas Cibaenas in LIDOM, the professional baseball league of the Dominican Republic. But he’s being given time to go to Houston for an in-person interview this weekend.

Luis Urueta’s Rangers Impact

He isn’t the only coach being interviewed. Former MLB manager Brad Ausmus has reportedly been interviewed, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Ausmus is currently the bench coach for the New York Yankees. The Athletic (subscription required) confirmed the Astros are also speaking to Albert Pujols about the job.

If Urueta were to get the job, it would be his first managerial job in the Majors. He has been a manager in the minor leagues, in the Dominican Republic and managed his native Colombia in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

He’s been a coach in the Majors since 2018 when he joined the staff of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was eventually promoted to bench coach and a stint as an acting manager in 2020 made him the first Colombian-born person to manage an MLB team.

He joined the Miami Marlins as a bench coach before the 2023 season, joining then-manager Skip Schumaker’s staff. He managed the final two games of the 2024 season when Schumaker had to step away for a family matter.

Both landed in Texas in 2025. Urueta took over as bench coach for manager Bruce Bochy after Will Venable took over as manager with the Chicago White Sox. Schumaker, then unemployed, joined the Rangers’ front office as a special advisor. When Bochy stepped away after the season, those hirings became a succession plan as Schumaker was named manager and Urueta remained as bench coach.

If Urueta were to accept the job, it’s not clear what the Rangers would do for a bench coach. The longest-tenured coach on the staff is third base coach Corey Ragsdale, who has managed in the Rangers’ minor league system and has served as third base coach, first base coach and field coordinator at the MLB level.

Under Schumaker, the Rangers struggled around .500 the entire season and finished the campaign 80-82, one game out of first place in the AL West.