Boston Red Sox: Five candidates to replace Alex Cora as manager
Red Sox manager Alex Cora is likely to be fired for his role in the sign-stealing scandals. We examine five candidates who could replace him.
News broke on Monday that Major League Baseball had concluded its investigation into the Houston Astros organization in regards to its role in the camera-based sign-stealing allegations that had been levied against the franchise.
Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the Astros would receive a record $5 million fine and lose their 1st and 2nd-round picks in both 2020 and 2021. In addition, manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow would each receive one-year suspensions.
Following the news of Major League Baseball’s punishment, Astros owner Jim Crane announced that both Hinch and Luhnow had been fired for their roles in the scandal. The punishment was swift and heavy for both, despite the investigation suggesting that neither played an active role in the scandal, but that they were both negligent in addressing it.
This is significant due to the potential ramifications as it relates to Boston manager Alex Cora and his role in both this investigation and the ongoing investigation by MLB into the allegations that the Red Sox organization illicitly utilized the video replay room to steal signs during the 2018 season.
Cora is directly implicated in the development of the camera-based sign-stealing scandal in Houston and was allegedly the mastermind behind the Red Sox sign-stealing situation. Cora was named 11 times in the report on the Houston investigation alone, which does not bode well for his future with the Red Sox.
As a result, Cora is expected to receive a punishment that is much harsher than what Hinch and Luhnow received. Some analysts have suggested that he may receive a suspension that is four or more years in length.
Regardless of what the final outcome of the investigations is, this is a significant black-eye for the Red Sox organization and it certainly tarnishes their magical 2018 run that culminated in a World Series Championship and a franchise-record 108 win season.
As a result, the Red Sox ownership group needs to get out in front of MLB’s report on the situation and remove Alex Cora from his position as manager. Doing so would put them in a better light and would allow a new manager to get things in order prior to spring training. Waiting could ultimately serve as a major detriment to the team.
If the Red Sox brass wisely opts to move on from Cora, there are a plethora of good candidates available to the franchise. Here are five candidates in which they could consider:
Buck Showalter has as much managerial experience as any viable managerial candidate there is. With a record of 1551-1517, spanning 16 seasons with four different organizations, Showalter certainly knows the ins-and-outs of MLB.
Showalter began his managerial career in 1985, coaching for the Penn-NY league Oneonta Yankees, a single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. He would move up through the minor league ranks of New York, coaching at various levels until being promoted to the coaching staff of the big-league club in 1990.
In 1992, Showalter would take over as the manager of the Yankees, a position he would hold with the club until he was fired by George Steinbrenner in 1995. He would return to the coaching ranks in 1998, this time with the Arizona Diamondbacks and he would manage Arizona through the 2000 season.
Following the 2000 season, the Diamondbacks would opt to fire Showalter. Oddly, both the Yankees and the Diamondback organizations would win World Series Championships the year after firing Showalter as their manager.
The Texas Rangers hired him in 2003, where he would coach until 2006. He took a reprieve from coaching until agreeing to become the manager of the Baltimore Orioles in 2010, where he managed until 2018.
In between his brief hiatuses from managing, Showalter would serve as an analyst for the YES Network and ESPN. He was a three-time manager of the year award winner, winning it in 1994, 2004 and 2014. During his coaching career, Showalter led his teams to five playoff appearances.
During the offseason, the 62-year-old was strongly considered for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim managerial openings. One would have to think that someone of his caliber and experience would have to garner consideration from the Red Sox for a potential managerial opening.
Sandy Alomar Jr. has long been considered a strong candidate for a managerial position in Major League Baseball. That said, outside of a six-game stretch in which he acted as the interim manager for the Cleveland Indians following the franchise firing Manny Acta, Alomar Jr. has not received an opportunity to manage a big-league club.
Alomar Jr. who played from 1988-2007, fits the mold of an ideal managerial candidate. He possesses the charisma and personality and benefitted greatly from calling games as a catcher, a position in which he would be a six-time All-Star.
Following his playing career, Alomar Jr. would immediately go into coaching, accepting a position as the catching instructor for the New York Mets. He would serve in that position during both the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
After the conclusion of the 2009 season, the Cleveland Indians would hire the former catcher to become their new first base coach. He would be promoted to the position of bench coach for the Indians in 2011 under Manny Acta.
He would be a finalist for the vacant manager’s position in Cleveland after the 2012 season, but the club would ultimately decide to go with former Red Sox manager Terry Francona. However, the Indians would retain Alomar Jr. making him Francona’s bench coach in 2013.
In 2014, Cleveland would shift him back to their first base coach, a position that he continues to serve in with the franchise. Despite not landing a role as a manager in Major League Baseball, Alomar Jr. has been interviewed multiple times since 2011. One of the places in which he interviewed was with the Boston Red Sox, who were reportedly strongly considering him as a candidate before hiring John Farrell in 2011.
If the Red Sox felt strongly about Alomar Jr. previously, it stands to reason that they would still hold him in high regard for a managerial role and may be willing to consider him again should Cora’s role become vacant.
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.
Raul Ibanez has been a name that has been floated among managerial candidate circles for a couple of years now. He is viewed as a high character candidate who would likely play well in a major league clubhouse.
Ibanez, who retired from baseball in 2014, is highly regarded by current players, many of whom played either with or against him during his time in the game. The 2009 All-Star has not been a coach previously.
He has been a television analyst for ESPN and ESPN Deportes. In addition, Ibanez has served in a front-office role with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he currently serves in the role of special advisor to the President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman.
The 47-year-old was considered for the San Francisco Giants manager position this offseason, but Gabe Kapler was ultimately given the position. Ibanez was highly sought after by the New York Yankees for their open managerial role in 2017, but he declined the request of the team to interview for the position and they ended up hiring current manager Aaron Boone instead.
The Red Sox would likely be interested in having an individual of his charisma, who has served in a role close to Andrew Friedman as a candidate for a potential opening as their manager.
If the Red Sox decide to part ways with Cora, they are almost certain to give strong consideration to a man who is held in great regard by fans and the organization alike. That man is none other than The Captain, Jason Varitek.
Varitek, who played from 1997 to 2011 with the Red Sox, is currently serving in a role as a special assistant in the organization. He originally accepted the role with the team in 2012 under then general manager Ben Cherington, a role he would continue to serve in under Dave Dombrowski.
In addition to his role as a special assistant, he has also worked with the team as a catching instructor. The 2016 Red Sox Hall of Fame inductee, who currently lives in the Boston area, possesses a great deal of leadership ability. His leadership skills are the reason that the Red Sox named him as only the fourth captain in team history, joining Jimmie Foxx, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice as the others.
Varitek is regarded as an excellent communicator with a great understanding of the game. That understanding was on full display in the record four no-hitters that he caught in his career with Boston.
The two-time World Series champion has no official managerial or coaching experience in baseball. However, that has not served as a deterrent for teams to have interest in him as a manager. In 2016, Varitek interviewed for the manager’s position with the Seattle Mariners, who opted to hire Scott Servais instead.
He was rumored to be considered for the vacant manager position with the Red Sox in 2017, but the team would instead decide to hire Cora. When asked about his future as a manager in Major League Baseball, Varitek indicated that he would strongly consider it.
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If the Red Sox want to hire an individual who would make fans quickly forget about the scandal surrounding Cora and the team, Varitek would be the perfect opportunity to do so. If they were to select him as their next manager, they would be hiring an excellent baseball mind who is as respected as anyone to ever put on the Red Sox uniform. Plus he is intimately familiar with the franchise and would represent an option for a smooth transition away from Cora.