*Photo from the New York Times*
The Boston Red Sox are bringing back Alex Cora to manage the team, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Cora was the manager of the Red Sox until January, when he was fired due to his involvement in the 2017 Houston Astros sign stealing scandal, as well as the investigation into the 2018 Red Sox, in which Cora was not listed as a perpetrator. Cora's deal is for two years with team options for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Cora and former Astros manager AJ Hinch, both named in the report of the 2017 Astros team, have gotten managerial roles since their one year suspensions have expired. Hinch was hired by the Detroit Tigers, while Cora returns to Boston. Cora's experience with the Red Sox ultimately played a big role in bringing him back, as the Red Sox would've been on their 3rd manager in 4 years if they didn't bring back Cora.
Cora said in a statement following his hire that "This past year, I have had time to reflect and evaluate many things, and I recognize how fortunate I am to lead this team once again, not being a part of the game of baseball, and the pain of bringing negative attention to my family and this organization was extremely difficult. I am sorry for the harm my past actions have caused and will work hard to make this organization and its fans proud."
In Cora's first season with the Red Sox, the 2018 season, he guided them to a 108-54 record in the regular season, securing baseball's best record that season. They then went a dominating 11-3 in the playoffs, winning the world series that year. 2019 was a disappointing year for the Red Sox and Cora, as they finished 3rd in the AL East with an 84-78 record, failing to make the playoffs, despite having the majority of the roster from 2018.
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said in a statement that "We considered a very impressive slate of candidates – the brightest managerial prospects in the game today, because of all that had happened, I knew that I wanted to speak with Alex once his suspension ended, but I didn’t yet know if it made sense to consider him for the job as well. Our conversations were lengthy, intense, and emotional. Alex knows that what he did was wrong, and he regrets it. My belief is that every candidate should be considered in full: strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments and failures. That is what I did with Alex in making this choice. He loves the Red Sox and the game of baseball, and because of that we believe he will make good on this second chance."
After the Red Sox fired Ron Roenicke following the 2020 season, the Red Sox began their managerial search, which was pretty expansive early on. Cubs 3rd base coach Will Venable, Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, Twins bench coach Mike Bell, Yankees hitting coach Marcus Thames, Marlins bench coach James Rowson, Pirates bench coach Don Kelly, Padres associate manager Skip Schumaker, Diamondbacks bench coach Luis Urueta, and Phillies player information coordinator Sam Fuld all received interviews, in addition to Cora.
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