Alex

Cora

Cora is signed to a three-year, $21.75 million contract with the Red Sox that he will still collect even if he doesn’t manage another game. Taking another managerial position would mean that he has to rip up that contract, so he’s understandably in no rush. Cora will spend time with his family for now, but there’s obviously a chance that he could change his mind in the future. For now, Don Mattingly will manage the Phillies.

Passan reports that the Red Sox also have fired hitting coach Peter Fatse, third base coach Kyle Hudson, bench coach Rámon Vazquez and game-planning coach Jason Varitek. This comes after the Red Sox picked up a 17-1 win over the Orioles on Saturday, but this was likely in the works for a long time. Even with the win, Cora and Boston had just a 10-17 record, and the Red Sox will turn to a new leader in hopes of salvaging the season. Cora has compiled a 619-541 win-loss record while leading Boston to a championship in 2019 over his eight seasons as skipper. An interim manager will be announced after the decision becomes official.

Vogt received 17 first-place votes to edge John Schneider, who got 10 first-place votes to finish second. Dan Wilson came away with a pair of first-place votes and Alex Cora also received one to finish third and fourth, respectively. The 41-year-old skipper, who helped guide the Guardians to an improbable late-season comeback to wrestle the AL Central division crown from Detroit this past season, earns the honor for the second straight season, joining Bobby Cox, Kevin Cash and Pat Murphy as the only repeat winners since 1983. He’s gone 180-143 (.557) in two seasons at the helm in Cleveland.

The deal is now official to keep Cora at the helm as Boston’s skipper through 2027. It was widely assumed that Cora would become a free agent at the conclusion of the year after the two sides were unable to hammer out a long-term deal entering the year, but he’s opted to remain with the Red Sox for at least a couple additional years instead of testing the open market in search of something more lucrative.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported this morning that the two sides were close, and it appears that was indeed true. Some Red Sox beat writers have reported that the two sides have been informally talking since the end of the World Series last year, but there was some question about whether or not Boston would retain Cora after turning the reins over to Craig Breslow as president of baseball operations. When all is said and done, it appears Cora will remain in Boston for three more seasons to guide the team as their young prospects arrive at the big league level.

Buster Olney reports that the contract “is in the range of three years, $21.75m. It would be the second-highest salary for a manager, behind Craig Counsell’s 5-year, $40m deal.” After months of silence regarding Cora’s lame-duck status, a multiyear contract is a very real possibility.

Cora is not under contract after the 2024 season but Kennedy has been an avid supporter of Cora’s during his tenure as the Red Sox manager. However, unlike Chaim Bloom, Kennedy will allow newly hired Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow to make the decision if Cora will be with the Red Sox after this season. “We made it clear both to Alex and to Craig Breslow that it’s Craig’s decision to make and those guys will talk about it,” Kennedy said. “They do not want it to be a distraction and they’ve had open and honest and direct conversation. So we’ll leave those discussions to Brez and AC when they feel it’s appropriate.” Cora and the Red Sox have finished in last place in the AL East in back-to-back seasons.

Bailey takes over as Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s new pitching coach after Dave Bush, who held the position for the past three years, was fired last month at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. He’s one of the first significant hires for new president of baseball operations Craig Breslow, who played a pivotal role in the Cubs’ pitching plans the last few years. The 39-year-old former big leaguer, who spent two seasons as a pitcher in Boston from 2012-2013, has served as the Giants’ pitching coach for the last three seasons.

Bailey was teammates with new Red Sox’ boss Craig Breslow for five seasons with the Red Sox and Athletics — and the two are very close friends — so this move doesn’t come as a major surprise. Bailey has served as the Giants’ pitching coach for each of the past four seasons under recently-ousted manager Gabe Kapler.

Third base coach Carlos Febles is also on the way out. It’s not like the Red Sox were going to let a disappointing season pass without some change on the coaching staff. Factoring in the dreadful defense it had to deal with, Boston’s pitching was better than it’s hitting this year. Maybe the Red Sox felt that Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock didn’t make enough progress, but injuries were a factor with the last two. It’s hard to argue that Bush should have done better with what he was given.