Red Sox fans finally can worry less about gut-wrenching defection to Yankees
Even with their rough start to the second half, the Boston Red Sox have been one of the most surprising teams this season. Pegged by many to end the season with yet another last-place finish, Boston enters Wednesday's action with a 54-46 record. Not only are they just 1.0 game back of the third Wild Card spot, but they trail the first-place Orioles by just 6.0 games in the AL East. Crazier things have happened.
While the players obviously deserve credit for exceeding expectations, Alex Cora's contributions cannot be overstated. The work he has done not only this season but in his six seasons with Boston is why he is considered one of the best managers in the game.
Cora being as elite of a manager as he is was why Red Sox fans have gone through this season terrified about the possibility of losing him after this season, particularly if their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees, got him.
Thankfully for Red Sox fans, ESPN's Jeff Passan came out with a bombshell report saying that Cora is nearing a multi-year extension to remain in Beantown.
News: The Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora have engaged in recent talks on a contract extension, and there is momentum toward a deal, sources tell me and @Buster_ESPN. After months of silence regarding Cora's lame-duck status, a multiyear contract is a real possibility.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 24, 2024
Red Sox fans don't have to worry about worst-case scenario with Alex Cora nearing multi-year extension
To get Cora to agree to sign now, the Red Sox would have to pay him handsomely. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, they're planning on doing just that, giving Cora one of the richest contracts for a manager.
The deal that the Red Sox and Alex Cora have been discussing, first reported by Jeff Passan, is in th,e range of three years, $21.75m. It would be the second-highest salary for a manager, behind Craig Counsell's 5-year, $40m dea.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 24, 2024
For much of this season, it felt inevitable that Cora's tenure in Boston was all but over. The Red Sox had made little to no effort to get better last offseason and frankly have not spent like the big market giants that they are for years now. Cora had reason to at the very least test the free agent waters. He was sure to garner tons of interest, much like Craig Counsell did last offseason.
Had Cora tested free agency, would there have been a more appealing destination than New York? The Yankees are a team that at the very least has more star power than Boston, and an argument could be made that playing for Aaron Boone has held the team back. Can you imagine this Yankees team with Cora in the dugout? Would they look as bad as they do right now?
There's nothing Red Sox fans despise more than seeing the Yankees win, and Cora landing in the Bronx would only help New York do just that.
Barring a drastic shift, it sounds like the Red Sox have avoided their own version of the Craig Counsell situation. Cora not only isn't going to leave them for their arch-rivals, but he's going to be in Boston for the foreseeable future, which is where he belongs.
feed