The Boston Red Sox have brought back manager Alex Cora for a second stint with the team, according to multiple reports Friday morning.
The Boston Globe previously reported that Cora had met in person with the team’s chief baseball officer, Chaim Bloom, and general manager Brian O’Halloran, about returning to the job he held in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Cora, 45, and the Red Sox parted ways last January amid Major League Baseball’s investigation into illegal sign-stealing. Cora was identified by MLB as a ringleader in the Astros’ scheme to steal signs en route to their 2017 World Series championship, when he was Houston’s bench coach.
He subsequently was suspended by MLB in April through the end of the 2020 postseason “for his conduct as bench coach for the Houston Astros in 2017,” commissioner Rob Manfred said at the time.
Cora became Boston’s manager in 2018 and led his new team to the title — albeit with suspicions regarding similar illegal sign-stealing. The following season, his second and last with the Red Sox, the team finished 84-78 and did not make the playoffs.
The Red Sox finished last in the American League East this past season under manager Ron Roenicke, going 24-36 in the pandemic-shortened season. Roenicke was fired after the season, his only one with the team.
In announcing Cora’s departure from the team in a statement on Jan. 14, Red Sox principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and CEO Sam Kennedy said, “Today we met to discuss the Commissioner’s report related to the Houston Astros investigation. Given the findings and the Commissioner’s ruling, we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward and we mutually agreed to part ways. … This is a sad day for us. Alex is a special person and a beloved member of the Red Sox. We are grateful for his impact on our franchise.”
(Field Level Media)
