Red Sox’s Alex Cora mum on future but may have eyes set on historic contract
SPRINGFIELD — Red Sox manager Alex Cora had little interest in discussing his managerial future in Boston on Friday night but did — as he approaches a contract year — acknowledge that recent developments around baseball have changed things for managers around the game.
Cora, who is entering his sixth (non-consecutive) season at the helm of the Red Sox, has just the 2024 season left on his contract and is entering a lame-duck year. When former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was fired in September, the Red Sox decided to keep Cora in place for 2024 — even before hiring a new top executive — and put the manager’s future in the hands of the eventual hire. Craig Breslow did not extend Cora’s contract after taking over and will assess the manager’s status over the next few months.
Speaking before the team’s annual Winter Weekend event began at the MassMutual Center, Cora said he hadn’t had any substantial conversations about his future with team decision-makers. He remains focused on getting the Red Sox to contend in 2024 and worrying about future years at a later date.
“I think the future is the Red Sox and getting these guys better,” Cora said. “I think I’d be very selfish if I started talking about Alex Cora and what the future holds. I think the best way to do it is to be a good teammate like I’ve always been and take care of ‘24.”
It’s reasonable to think Cora, 48, may test managerial free agency no matter how the 2024 season goes for the Red Sox. If the club doesn’t contend, Breslow may fire Cora and choose to install his own manager entering his second season running the front office. If the Red Sox do play well, Cora will have added a strong season (with a potentially lacking roster) to his resumé and hit managerial free agency similar to how Craig Counsell did at the end of 2023. Counsell, who managed the Brewers for nine seasons, explored other options once his contract with Milwaukee expired at the end of the season and ended up joining the Cubs, replacing an already-in-place manager in David Ross. Counsell became the highest-paid manager in MLB history when he signed a five-year, $40 million deal that pays him $8 million per season.
In baseball circles, Cora — who unlike Counsell has a World Series ring as a manager — has made no secret that Counsell’s deal with the Cubs has left him excited as he contemplates his future. A December report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale noted that multiple teams already had “strong interest” in Cora for 2025 and the specter of big-market teams like the Dodgers and Yankees potentially having managerial openings looms large. On Friday, Cora said he thinks Counsell’s contract will have long-ranging impacts on his profession.
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