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We all know that the first domino to fall in the Red Sox offseason will be the hiring of a new manager after the team fired John Farrell just days following their elimination from postseason play. There has been speculation for a few different candidates, with Alex Cora, Brad Ausmus and Ron Gardenhire all getting interviews with Red Sox brass. Cora has been the favorite since the beginning, it seems, and while nothing official has been announced to this point, the smoke is getting thicker. According to a report from LasMayores.com — MLB.com’s official Spanish site -- Cora will be named manager following the conclusion of the ALCS. That series will end no later than Saturday.
Según varias fuentes, @ac13alex será presentado formalmente como dirigente de los @RedSoxBeisbol luego de que culmine la SCLA. #LasMayores pic.twitter.com/8BsSTjj9fj
— LasMayores (@LasMayores) October 19, 2017
I should mention again that, to this point, this is all just a rumor. Ian Browne of MLB.com reached out to Dave Dombrowski on Thursday for comment, and the Red Sox president said that no decision has been made.
Dave Dombrowski says no decision has been made yet on the next manager of the @RedSox. There have been some rumors today.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) October 19, 2017
Of course, this by no means indicates that they aren’t at least extremely close to a deal with Cora, who is currently serving as the bench coach for the Houston Astros. His team trails the Yankees 3-2 in the ALCS, which will pick back up on Friday in Houston.
Where there is smoke there is fire, though, and there have been rumors that Cora was the prohibitive favorite to land in Boston for at least a week now. It should also be mentioned that Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston is also reporting that the Red Sox will make their decision following the ALCS. He also indicates that Cora is the heavy favorite. Specifically, one source told him they have “no doubt it is him,” referring to Cora.
Cora always seemed like the best and most logical fit for this position, as he checks essentially all the boxes Dombrowski is looking for in a new manager. He has experience coaching at the major-league level, and he has also served as a manager and general manager in Puerto Rico for winter league ball. He is also a younger face who reportedly has strong rapport with his players, something the Red Sox could desperately use in their clubhouse. We’ll have much more on this story as it continues to develop.
UPDATE: The tweet from Las Mayores has been deleted since the publish of this post. This certainly changes things, but Drellich’s report is still up and there is still plenty of smoke. I would still expect this to happen.