Boston Red Sox fans everywhere were shocked when news of an Alex Cora contract extension broke on a Wednesday in July.
The option that kept the skipper in Boston for the 2023-24 campaign expired at the end of the season. Had the Red Sox not extended Cora, they would’ve had to add a managerial search to their offseason plans. Or, they could’ve bet on him when he reached the recently invented concept of managerial free agency, where Craig Counsell fetched a five-year, $40 million deal from the Cubs in 2023.
Cora’s market was projected to be met by mostly big-market teams. The Yankees and Dodgers were among the likeliest candidates, but neither team will search for a manager this winter — Dave Roberts and Aaron Boone would’ve been in the hot seat if their clubs couldn’t manage a deep playoff run.
The big-spending Mets also made an unexpected run to the NLCS. Any teams that could afford the kind of deal Cora was looking for do not need him in 2025. But Red Sox reporter Chris Cotillo of MassLive named another National League East squad as the biggest “outside threat” to sign Cora, had he been available — the Philadelphia Phillies.
Red Sox reporter names Phillies as candidate for Alex Cora had he not been extended by Boston
Dodgers? Nope. Yankees? Nope. Mets? Nope. The way this postseason has shaken out makes Alex Cora’s decision to re-up with the Red Sox and not test free agency look even better for him:https://t.co/xwcN6LYk9L
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) October 23, 2024
The Phillies led the NL in the win column for much of the season and were expected to be a serious treat in this year’s postseason race. But they met the Mets in the NLDS for the teams’ first playoff meeting in history, and New York expedited Philly early.
The Phillies lost the World Series in 2022 and have been eliminated earlier each year since. Their manager Rob Thomson’s job could’ve been in jeopardy after their latest playoff loss, but he was recently extended through 2026, possibly because Cora wasn’t available.
Cotillo reports Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski holds Cora in high regard and may have renewed their partnership from 2018-19 had he been available. Luckily for Boston, it extended Cora early to avoid a potential disaster in the grim managerial market.
Red Sox fans have mixed feelings about Cora for multiple reasons, from his disciplinary history to his record. After the way the playoffs shook out, Boston could’ve been left with scraps to fill the skipper post had it let Cora walk.
