Red Sox bringing back Alex Cora as manager

Alex Cora is back in charge of the Red Sox.

The Boston Red Sox were expected to move on from manager Alex Cora, even after his league-mandated suspension was up. Chaim Bloom had the chance to hire a qualified candidate like Sam Fuld to lead the rebuild in Boston following the Mookie Betts trade, but he instead chose to run it back with one of the most influential figures in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scheme.

Jon Heyman has confirmed that Cora has returned as manager of the Red Sox, showing that the Red Sox believed he has served his time his one-year mandated suspension after his involvement in past sign-stealing scandals.

Alex Cora has some extensive baggage dating back to Houston

While the beneficiary of a loaded roster, the former Astros bench coach in that infamous 2017 season hit the ground running in 2018, winning 108 games and a World Series in a phenomenal season. While 2018 couldn’t have gone better for Cora, Boston regressed in 2019, as he won just 84 games due to a poor bullpen letting them down constantly.

When it was revealed how much he was involved in creating and fostering the cheating environment in Houston, he was suspended for the 2020 season and relieved of his duties as manager. After that was handed down, he was found to have overseen sign-stealing from the Red Sox during the 2018 season, but he was not disciplined further after that concerning revelation.

The Red Sox had a chance to turn the page on the Cora era and distance themselves from someone who clearly disqualified himself from a role in baseball for the immediate future after what happened with the Astros. However, they passed over some qualified candidates to bring him back in a move that will draw the ire of the rest of the baseball world.