Acta, 40, said he has no regrets about his time with the Nationals, who fired him after a 21-61 start last season.
"I knew what I was getting into," he said. "I knew rebuilding is tough. It's grueling and you are going to suffer in Ws and Ls and people earn their right to judge you on that. But I'm thankful that baseball people count more the Ws than the Ls when you are going through the rebuilding process."
Last week, Acta interviewed for Houston's opening. He was drafted by the Astros as a 17-year-old and played and managed in their system until 2001. When he was 22, the Astros told him he could not play in the majors, so he turned to coaching as a way to make baseball his life.
Acta, who prides himself on his communication skills, was prepared for his interview with the Indians. He spent countless hours watching them on TV last season, knowing they might be changing managers. He rattled off the names of Indians players, from stars to part-timers, and said the rebuilding project in Cleveland is far different from the one he left in Washington.
"This is far and away advanced," he said. "The Indians have a lot of pieces in place."
Acta was born in the Dominican Republic and his ability to communicate with Cleveland's Latino players is a plus.
"I can communicate with them without anything getting lost in translation," he said. "It's on my side but I hope I'm not getting the job just because I'm bilingual."