When the Boston Red Sox fired their longtime manager Alex Cora on April 25, they also fired anyone else who could be reasonably promoted to their new managerial vacancy. Ramón Vázquez, Pete Fatse, Kyle Hudson, Dillon Lawson, Joe Cronin and Jason Varitek, who has fielded managerial interest from other teams in the past, were all dismissed alongside Cora.
Boston then promoted Chad Tracy, former manager of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, to Boston in the skipper spot. Tracy makes sense as an immediate solution — you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with anything negative to say about him and he's managed much of the Sox's young core when they passed through Worcester on their way to Boston or during rehab assignments. His lack of major league managerial experience has certainly raised some questions, however.
Despite the decent fit for those reasons, the Red Sox declined to confirm whether Tracy would be the manager for the rest of the year, according to Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive. Boston is keeping its options open when it comes to hiring a new manager in-season, but such a hire would be unlikely.
Cora was a popular man in the Red Sox's clubhouse and Tracy is another, given his previous experience with many of his current players. Many players, with Trevor Story being the most public example, were unhappy with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow's decision to dismiss Cora and the rest of his coaching staff, so removing another team-favorite manager could push Breslow even further out of the good graces of his players.
Red Sox have reportedly not said for sure whether Chad Tracy will manage for the rest of the season, keeping their options open
The calendar has only just flipped to May, the second full month of the season. It's strange that even one managerial firing has come so early, let alone two: the Philadelphia Phillies also fired their skipper, Rob Thomson, after an underwhelming first month. It's hard to imagine the Red Sox hiring another manager so soon, let alone one that is fresh off his own disappointing tenure.
More managerial candidates will be available at the end of the year, when contracts with current teams begin to expire. MLB insider Jeff Passan floated Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, who served as a Red Sox bench coach under former skipper John Farrell, as a potential candidate. Rocco Baldelli, a Rhode Island native, might also be up for the task, but he's currently serving as a special assistant in the Los Angeles Dodgers' front office.
Other manager firings across the league may need to occur for the Red Sox to find a replacement they prefer to Tracy. If Boston shapes up and turns its record around with Tracy calling the shots, Cotillo and McAdam suggested that the Red Sox could extend him after the season. Only time will tell where this team goes from here.
Add us as a preferred source on Google