Acta was named the club's 40th manager Sunday. He signed a three-year contract through 2012, with a club option for 2013.

The 40-year-old Acta beat out Triple-A Columbus manager Torey Lovullo and former Mets and Rangers manager and current ESPN analyst Bobby Valentine, both of whom were also at Progressive Field for interviews last week. Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly had been expected to interview this week, but the Indians moved forward with the hire more quickly than anticipated.

The Astros no doubt played a part in that time frame, as they offered Acta their manager's job. Acta spent 16 years in the Astros' Minor League system, so it had been expected that they might be his first choice. But he turned down the Astros to accept the Indians' offer.

Acta compiled a 158-252 record with the Nationals before he was dismissed in July.

The Indians have been looking for a new manager since they dismissed Eric Wedge and his coaching staff the final week of the '09 season.

Acta is statistically minded and enjoys discussing and applying sabermetrics. He also is a bilingual Dominican native, which could help him develop a good relationship with the Latin players.

"This is a job where handling people and working with people is the key," Acta said last week. "This is a job where sometimes the employees are making 50,000 times more than the boss. Handling them the right way is the key."