5 potential replacements for Alex Cora in Boston

4. Buck Showalter

Fresh off a nine-year run managing the Baltimore Orioles, Buck Showalter is only 63, far from retired and itching to get back into the game. He just may have found his opening with the Red Sox job coming up. Showalter is uniquely familiar with the American League East and is respected by everyone in baseball. He may be the perfect face to carry a franchise through a controversy.

Showalter has managed 20 years in the big leagues, being named Manager of the Year three times and coming oh-so-close to getting over the hump and winning the World Series. He has taken three teams to the playoffs, working with veteran clubs and young clubs alike. He was a season away from getting the chance to lead the New York Yankees dynasty, but moved on to develop a reputation as a manager who can shape an organization from the ground up.

There are some cons that come with hiring Showalter for the Red Sox. He can be difficult to work with, and his time in Baltimore ended on somewhat sour terms with Dan Duquette and his front office. Showalter also has a reputation for being stubborn and refusing to trust analytics and the new-age approach to managing. No matter how the rest of his career plays out, he will never live down his decision to leave MVP candidate Zack Britton in the bullpen during the 2016 AL Wild Card Game.

If the Red Sox hope to continue contending for titles without hitting the pause button and retooling their roster, Showalter is a good choice. He can handle veteran clubhouses and should have learned his lesson from the end of his time in Baltimore, where he had a chance to go down as a legend on par with the great Earl Weaver.

Showalter’s legacy is a complicated one, but he has a chance to continue building on it with the right job.