If the Philadelphia Phillies got their wish, former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora wouldn't have been unemployed for very long. The Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday, and immediately offered the job to Cora. At the time of Cora's firing, the Phillies were thought to be an eventual option for his services, but no one would have predicted that moment of truth would come within a week of his own firing.
Cora declined the offer from the Phillies, with a report from USA Today's Bob Nightengale indicating that the 50-year-old is planning on spending the rest of the summer with his family as a full-time dad.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Cora is taking additional time off. He was just made the scapegoat for everything that has gone wrong for the Red Sox over the past year. Besides, in the immediate aftermath of his firing, Cora certainly seems to be embracing the idea that he's not overseeing a baseball team headed in the wrong direction.
The Phillies are 9-19 on the season, and the roster is trending in the wrong direction. There certainly may be opportunities where Cora would consider returning to work this summer, but Philadelphia wouldn't be at the top of that list. Larger changes may be needed with the Phillies, and if you're Cora, it doesn't make sense to jump from one disappointing team to another.
Alex Cora is going to be a hot topic this offseason after Phillies denial
No one is going to fault Cora for wanting to spend time with his family. He's still collecting a check from the Red Sox, and it's not often you see a team hire a permanent manager during the regular season. For those reasons, it makes sense that Cora turned down the offer from the Phillies.
There's also no need for Cora to rush into a decision. If Cora waits until the offseason to find a new job, there are going to be potential openings with the Phillies, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Add in another surprise team or two that makes a managerial change (Chicago White Sox, in Ozzie Guillen's footsteps?), and he can have the pick of the litter.
Instead of being forced to take the only open job at the moment, Cora can wait until the offseason and truly be at the center of the managerial hiring cycle. Not to mention, there's almost certainly going to be a larger payday waiting for him this offseason, considering that more teams involved leads to a bidding war.
Cora is a family man at the moment, but don't be fooled. He is going to be back in baseball before you know it.
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