5 potential replacements for Alex Cora in Boston

3. Matt Quatraro

The Red Sox poached Chaim Bloom away from the Tampa Bay Rays to become their Chief Baseball Officer, and could set their sights on another highly-sought-after name from Tampa Bay. Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro was in the hunt for a few managerial openings last winter, but did not land a job.

This whole scandal could actually turn into a positive for Bloom, who was hired to overhaul the Red Sox and rebuild a depleted farm system. Now, he will also get to choose his own manager.

Quatraro spent a handful of seasons in the minor leagues but never reached the MLB level. He immediately went into coaching with the Rays organization, handling their catchers before moving onto positions as hitting coach and manager at the Single-A level. He served as the Rays minor league hitting coordinator from 2010 to 2013. Quatraro left the Tampa Bay organization to serve as the Cleveland Indians assistant hitting coach in 2014. He was then hired back by the Rays in 2017 to serve as their bench coach.

Boston should look to find a young manager who can grow into the position with Bloom. The Red Sox may be entering a period of transition as their roster begins to turn over slightly. This is an ideal time to tab a manager who can be molded and shaped with the front office’s analytical goals in mind.

The problem the Red Sox face when selling themselves to up and comers is the dark cloud hanging over the organization. That shouldn’t prevent Quatraro from taking the leap to work with Bloom again. Penalties or not, Boston is still a premier managerial job, any rookie skipper should jump at the chance to take the job.