Red Sox reportedly interview Luis Urueta for manager opening

There seems to be some momentum in the Red Sox search for a new manager, not so much in terms of any front-runner (beyond the perceived favoritism for Alex Cora) but more in terms of literal momentum of movement. After a few weeks of silence on this front, we learned on Thursday that Boston has interviewed Cubs coach Will Venable as well as Pirates coach Don Kelly for the job. Today, a report from ESPN’s Enrique Rojas indicates that they have also interviewed Diamondbacks bench coach Luis Urueta for the gig.

As Rojas notes in the tweet above, this is the second time this year that they have spoken with Urueta about this job, with him also getting an interview early in 2020 after Cora was officially let go.

Urueta, as mentioned, currently serves as the bench coach under Torey Lovullo in Arizona. Lovullo, of course, is the former Red Sox bench coach and interim manager and presumably has some lines of communication open with members of the Red Sox, so they can get a first-hand take on Urueta’s coaching chops. Beyond his time in Arizona, Urueta has also served as the manager for Colombia’s national team, including in 2017 when they earned their first-ever berth in the World Baseball Classic, as well as the manager for the Dominican Winter League’s Tigres de Licey. The latter is one of the most prestigious teams in that league, and Urueta won a championship with them in 2017.

We are now seeing a theme with the three managerial candidates we know the Red Sox have interviewed. All three would be first-time managers, and all three are relatively young. Don Kelly would be the oldest of the group at 40, with Urueta being 39 and Venable only 37 years old. From the outside it still seems like there’s some momentum for Cora to return, but there is at least some work being done beyond that reunion, with youth being the common link between the known names.

Also, in the linked post above from Urueta’s January interview I noted that his Wikipedia page summary says he is a former soccer goalkeeper, a fact that is not brought up again in the rest of his Wikipedia entry. That remains the case today as well.