Not even three days after he was fired as manager of the Boston Red Sox, Alex Cora has already become one of the hottest commodities in baseball.
A 10–17 start to the season in Boston led to Cora’s dismissal, and while the Red Sox may not have wanted him leading the charge anymore, another underperforming contender was chomping at the bit to land him: the Philadelphia Phillies.
According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale, the Phillies first offered Cora their managerial position before turning to Don Mattingly as interim manager, replacing Rob Thomson after a disastrous 9–19 start to the campaign. Cora, however, declined the offer in order to spend time with his family.
“Alex Cora was offered the Philadelphia Phillies’ managerial job before Don Mattingly, but declined. He has decided to spend time with his family,”
The 50-year-old Cora had a successful stint in Boston, particularly toward the beginning of his tenure, going 620–541 overall, including winning the 2018 World Series.
It remains to be seen how much time Cora will take off, as you can surely expect other clubs around the league to be keeping tabs on him.
Carlos Mendoza is on the hot seat with his New York Mets sitting at 9–19 through 28 games, and we know that owner Steve Cohen is never going to shy away from making a splash.
On the other hand, a potential return to the Houston Astros (11–18) also stands out as they look to rebound from a poor start to the year themselves. Cora spent one season as a bench coach in Houston before departing to take over as manager of the Red Sox.
Talk around Cora getting back into the game should cool off for now after this news, though it may not be long before he resurfaces, very likely with another big-market team that has high expectations.
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