Jeff Banister may be another candidate to receive strong consideration from the Red Sox should they decide to fire Cora. Banister has served in a coaching capacity since 1994, serving with both the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers.
Banister was a manager in the minor leagues for the Pirates from 1994 through 1998. During that time, he was able to amass a record of 299-330 while managing at different levels within Pittsburgh’s minor league organization.
He served as the Major League Field Coordinator for the Pirates from 1999 through 2002. He would shift to the team’s Minor League Field Coordinator from 2003 through 2010. However, he filled in as the interim manager of their Lynchburg affiliate in 2004 and their interim pitching coach in 2008. In addition, he served as the interim bench coach for the Pirates in 2010.
Following that season, he was a finalist for the Pirates managerial opening, but the team decided to hire Clint Hurdle instead. Banister would become the bench coach for Hurdle following his hiring. It was there that he became highly involved with sabermetrics and driven by quantitative analytics.
In 2014, Banister was a finalist for the Astros manager vacancy, but they would opt for A.J. Hinch instead. However, the Rangers would hire Banister to become their manager that same offseason, giving him his first major league managerial experience.
Banister led the Rangers to an 88-74 record his first year with the club and won the AL West Division title. He would manage Texas to two postseason appearances in his first two years but was ultimately fired following the 2018 season. His record as a manager of the Rangers was 325-313.
The 2014 Manager of the Year currently serves as a special assistant for the Pirates. He interviewed for the Pirates manager position this offseason, but the team hired Derek Shelton instead. The Red Sox would likely consider him given his strong analytics background, as that was a major draw in hiring Cora.