5:25pm: Cora confirmed the news after today’s game, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today on X. The deal is now official, per Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe on X.
2:25pm: Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X, Cora and the Sox have agreed to a three-year deal of more than $7MM annually, which aligns with the figure from Olney. Heyman says the deal is being finalized now.
1:50pm: The Red Sox and manager Alex Cora have recently engaged in talks about a contract extension, per Jeff Passan and Buster Olney of ESPN, as relayed by Passan on X. Passan says there is momentum towards a deal with a multi-year deal possible. In a subsequent tweet, he adds that the sides have talked about a three-year pact. Olney tweets that the discussed deals would pay Cora in the range of $21.75MM over those three years.
Cora, 48, has been the subject of speculation for a while since he is in the final year of his current contract. The club finished last in the American League East in both 2022 and 2023, which led the franchise to fire chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. Cora stayed on with Craig Breslow replacing Bloom, but it wasn’t clear if Cora would stay beyond the current season.
Some had speculated that Cora might look to pivot to a front office role, something he has openly expressed an interest in. Others wondered if he might follow the path of Craig Counsell, who surprised many by becoming a free agent and signing with the Cubs for $40MM over five years, changing the landscape of salary expectations for high-profile managers.
After those aforementioned last-place finishes, the Sox went on to have a fairly modest offseason. Their most notable deal in the winter was signing Lucas Giolito to a two-year deal, but they also traded away Chris Sale and then Giolito required season-ending surgery, seemingly leaving the club worse than where they were before.
Expectations were therefore fairly low but the Sox have easily surpassed them. Thanks largely to breakouts from incumbent players like Tanner Houck, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Kutter Crawford and others, the Sox are 54-46, putting them just one game back of a playoff spot.
As recently as last month, Cora told reporters that he and the club had no plans to discuss a midseason extension, but it appears that has now changed. Perhaps that’s due to the club performing better than expected or simply because Cora and Breslow have now had a few months to work together and become comfortable with one another.
The franchise has shown loyalty to Cora before. He managed the club in 2018 and 2019, winning the World Series in the first of those years, but he missed the 2020 season after being suspended by Major League Baseball. Cora was the bench coach for the Astros in 2017 and received that punishment for his role in their infamous sign-stealing operation. Ron Roenicke served as the bench boss in Boston that year but Cora was re-hired after his suspension was served, a two-year deal with club options for 2023 and 2024.
The Sox then went on a surprise playoff run 2021, despite finishing in last in the East the year prior. On the heels of that strong season, the Sox preemptively exercised both of their club options, keeping Cora in the dugout through 2024. That contract is now nearing its completion but it sounds as though there’s a good chance of a new deal getting done to keep him in Boston.
Why not.
Yuck
Sox fans punching air right now
Sweet – Glad you mentioned punching!!
Exactly 20 years ago today, Tek & ARod sparked one of the greatest brawls in Yankees/Sox history.
Tanyon Sturtze walked away from it a bloody mess, after getting beaten by Kapler and almost getting choked to death by Trot Nixon. LOL
Awho? Oh that glove smacking, PED using cheater.
Funny Dewey. It’ll take years, maybe decades worth of polishing to put the shine back on that….
Rose has a better chance of eventually making the HOF than him.
UGH!!!! He sucks, rather have Varitek
Cleveland – Agreed, and if Cora does stay then Tek will likely walk after this season.
Red Sox Nation is hoping these negotiations end up the same way as nearly every Red Sox free agent player negotiation goes …. with nothing coming to fruition.
Let’s see what’s wrong with the picture: Reward a manager for finishing last three out of the last four years yet getting rid of the last two GMs one because he didn’t agree with your budgets and the other who followed your budgets. He pays the price but the manager gets an expensive extension? Henry will now count this extension in their overall payroll and not let CB II upgrade the roster without again first subtracting elsewhere.
Time to end the Alex Cora era.
… a Varitek & David Ross as manager & bench coach long shot slips away. I don’t get the Sox obsession with Cora.
Quite a few Red Sox fans here are not going to be happy with this news. This going to start a lot of conversation lol
And quite a few others will be. That’s the thing about Sox fans, there are strong and differing opinions across the board.
@KingKen, while I am one of the ones who are NOT happy, you are correct about the other side. Most replying on the Globe’s article are happy. By most, I mean almost all.
But then again, that group thinks Henry is doing well lol
Does someone really think Henry is doing well? I can see some feeling positive of Cora since they are playing above expectations, but can’t imagine any fan being happy with Henry. Even a headless roach would know we needed to add starting pitching (not just the one starter that nobody wanted and was out for the season before the daffodils started blooming). Granted all the hottest pitchers that were on the market are not exactly earning the ridiculous salaries they received.
@Dbh…John Henry owns the Globe, so…
You ever thought that maybe Henry knew the talent on the farm and he also knew that starting rotations were going to be ravaged by injuries? John Henry is usually the smartest man in any room he walks in and is the first to see things others don’t. That’s what made him a billionaire and given him the 3rd biggest sports empire on the planet. I think he actually deserves credit, the team made one blunder and that was trading Sale for Grissom.
bum – So much wrong with your post I don’t even know where to begin.
Henry made his fortune as a commodities trader.
Being an intelligent businessman doesn’t make you an intelligent MLB team owner (plenty of examples throughout MLB to prove it).
The extent of Henry’s involvement in player ops is establishing a budget and bringing in great BASEBALL minds such as Lucky, Dombrowski, and Bill James to name a few.
That “empire” was mostly the doing of Lucky, who was chiefly responsible for saving and improving Fenway and getting Henry to open his wallet.
Henry’s Marlins were an epic failure.
Henry has made many epic blunders with the Red Sox, notably forcing Dombrowski out and thinking Bloom would be an adequate replacement and forcing Mookie out and allowing Lester to be lowballed.
Henry foolishly thought in 2002 that the latest craze in MLB (Moneyball) was the way to go. He quickly realized how wrong he was, thanks to Lucky, which led to him approving the Red Sox rising to the top of MLB payrolls.
It’s disappointing that despite the many people here who have repeatedly provided great information about Red Sox history under Henry, you seem to have not learned anything from it.
acoss – Grain of salt until a contract extension is actually announced.
We can only hope it’s hype. As I recently posted, let Cora walk, mend fences if he’s recovered for just two years and bring back Tito to undo the bad things Tek has learned from Cora. If he can do the job, give that money to Tito.
It’s announced
as a Sox fan, please no!
Interesting, when so many felt he already had one foot out the door. Might not be my first choice, but for some reason Henry forgot to ask me.
tff – This quote from John Henry says it all:
“One of the great things about money is that it buys a lot of things. One of which is the luxury to disregard what baseball likes, doesn’t like. What baseball thinks, doesn’t think.”
When he says “baseball” he is referring to everyone, including fans and media.
You Red Sox fans are hot stuff lol… Cora is a top 3 manager in baseball
Get me some of whatever this clown is smoking! LOL
bucsfan0004…Thanks for telling us you know nothing about baseball.
Red Sox “Fans” at MLBTR want you to believe that Front Office Personnel from around the country, that would be glad to get Cora, are all wrong.
Best GMs in the world are at MLBTR/Red Sox. They call for Red Sox to sign Montgomery and Snell in January, but by midseason they are sure they wouldve signed Lugo and Imanaga. Too bad the rest of the baseball world doesn’t see their genius.
Yup, I was one of those in favor of Monty & Snell.
But I am also one of the few to admit it.
I was in favor of the Sale trade lol….Boy I admit that one hurts because honestly keeping everything the same and just adding Sale…I think we would have 6 more wins right now
Kyle – Snell and Monty would have had fine seasons if they had a spring training.
But I agree about the Sox fans. As one myself, I know that we can be annoying, loud, and at times dumb. But some of the takes that I see polluting the comments sections in recent memory are insane. The people who think Cora is a bad manager (different than those that dislike him for the 2017 Houston stuff), for Devers to be traded, and the worst take im currently seeing is “let’s trade everything for Crochet!”
I know I want Sale back….He’s proving it just was dumb luck he kept getting hurt…now Grissom probably isn’t going to subplant Hamilton once back from injury.
kingbum
1) Arent all injuries dumb luck? Unless the person willfully did something to cause an injury, like punch a television.
2) Couldnt Grissom be having the same “dumb luck”? He still has 5 years to prove what he’s got. Any verdict on this trade right now is ridiculous.
You misspelled “Bottom 3”….
At the start of 2024 he was only here because of 2018 and 2021 (and the horrible 2020 season without him)
Now with the Red Sox over performing he’s getting rewarded
He only gives 1 good season then 2 mediocre seasons follow
He is the same he has always been, both good and bad. More talent in those seasons.
tff – Cora has repeatedly stated he was mentally and physically not in a good place last year.
And we all remember 2019 when he insisted on having a virtually non-existent ST and acknowledged not caring about winning in the early months of the regular season.
He has been very different this year. He’s not resting position players excessively. He’s allowing starters to pitch deeper in games. There’s other differences too.
Takes 3-5 years to really rebuild the farm system. I know Bloom sucked getting big league players but it looks like his farm system is bearing fruit
Duran….All-Star
Casas….Will be an All-star first healthy year
Hamilton….Fastest player on team, decent 2B
Abreu…Nice arm in right field, might get ROY
Raffela…+ value in CF and adequate SS, could get ROY
Crawford….career high in innings
There’s more that I’m not listing but Chaim really might have been just a few more years from turning Boston into Tampa or Baltimore
Some GMs have a knack for farm system success, bloom Mike Elias aj preller come to mind
Jed hoyer is kind of like bloom where he sucks at the big league talent but is good at getting that farm system up there
kingbum
Takes 3-5 years to really rebuild the farm system. I know Bloom sucked getting big league players but it looks like his farm system is bearing fruit
Duran….All-Star
Casas….Will be an All-star first healthy year
Hamilton….Fastest player on team, decent 2B
Abreu…Nice arm in right field, might get ROY
Raffela…+ value in CF and adequate SS, could get ROY
Crawford….career high in innings
___________________________________________________
I don’t think Duran (2018), Rafaela (2017), Casas (2018) and Crawford (2017) are all down to Bloom since they were drafted and signed under Dombrowski.
Abreu and Hamilton came in a trade under Bloom in 2022.
Bloom’s only merit is that he did not trade such building blocks as Duran, Casas, Rafaela, Crawford, Bello, Houck.
But he cheats…
Marcel Ozuna from the Braves represented MLB in the home run derby.
AJ Hinch manages the Tigers.
Alex Cora is in discussions about being hired by the Red Sox a third time.
Trevor Bauer is excommunicated.
Make it make sense, please.
As long as you don’t express criticism about the league they don’t care if you beat or cheat. Their league is filled with those afraid to say their real opinions.
It’s sickening watching you Bauer fanbois.
Here let me explain it to you simply. (If I had sock puppets, I’d use them to help you understand.)
Major league Baseball absolutely HATES having to discipline players. Yet, in Bauer’s case, they took a look at the evidence and levied the LONGEST SUSPENSION EVER under the domestic policy. Longer even than convicted abusers.
What does that tell you?
Also, let’s not forget for even one second that Bauer offered zero contradictory evidence while under oath. So we have uncontroverted testimony, under oath, from the accuser and Bauer’s defense was NOTHING. When he had the chance to defend himself in a legal setting, they offered nothing.
What does that tell you?
Oh sure, he’ll rant on X, or YouTube, or FauxNews. And he went around filing baseless lawsuits which were all thrown out. But when he had his chance under oath he hid like the coward criminal he is. The fact that one of his accusers is also a liar has no bearing on the judgement of Bauer himself.
But sure–keep stumping for him. I’m sure he loves to watch you suckle.
Just mute the fanbois. Makes your life infinitely better and since we will never see Bauer in MLB again, problem solved.
Most defendants don’t take the stand in criminal proceedings. That’s not “telling” of anything at all.
He might be an idiot, certainly distracting, and possible not even well-liked, but he clearly won this case. There can be no doubt about it.
@JoeBrady, he might have clearly won that case, but he’s still an idiot, certainly distracting, and not even well-liked. There can be no doubt about it.
I have no issue with that. I’m not sure I’d want to be around him.
Just as long as he isn’t being blackballed for something he didn’t do.
Bauer is already 33. Nature will end his baseball career soon enough.
He’s never pitching in MLB again, no matter what the incels here say about him.
IMO, that is an immature response. There are certainly plenty of reasons to believe Bauer. But one simple questions.
There is a hypothetical $1,000,000 on the table, and you either get all of it, or none of it if you guess wrong.
1-Is she lying?
2-Is she telling the truth?
No room for partials, or rationales, or anything else. Which answer would you choose?
Bauer is never pitching in MLB again, Joe. It’s fact.
I know that consensual sex is hard to achieve, but get out there and do your best. Trevor Bauer couldn’t care less about you and you will never meet him. Get a life.
Bauer’s situation is about politics.
Bauer’s situation is about him being a reprehensible human.
You’re wasting your time talking to Bauer fools. You might as well find the nearest tree and talk to it. You would get farther.
So you’ll turn a blind eye to the biggest cheating scandal in a century?
You’re joking right? Cheating has been going on in baseball ever since the first baseball was thrown out. In the 60’s teams used to just hire guys FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE of stealing the other teams signs. Teams with CF scoreboards have been accused of stealing C’s signs for over a hundred years. Guys have been popping speed-60’s, Steroids-last 30 years and God knows what else to boost performance. And that one you think is the scandal of forever? You need to get a grip on yourself but I suspect you already do. LOL
Like it or not, Cora was on the 2007 WS winning Sox team, managed arguably the greatest Sox team ever in 2018, and has this version playing better than most people expected.
Yes, he’s cheated. we all know that. the Sox still re-hired him. There’s obviously something in the water that the upper brass likes, or Cora has something on them. whatever the case, the fact that talks are happening should come as little surprise.
smkelly – This could very well be another Red Sox ploy, expressing interest in someone but making an offer to them that will definitely be refused.
Let’s wait and see what happens.
BTW – No credit to the B’s for the impact they’ve had on the pitching staff?
Yes, he’s cheated. we all know that.
=====================
Meh, we live in a world of holier-than-thou’s. He cheated, he got caught, he got punished, and now he is back.
I never think twice about any athlete that cheated and paid the price.
He took his punishment, one figures that should be enough. What do people want, for him to be permanently ineligible like Pete Rose?
There is likely not a single person in here that would want themselves permanently banned from something based on their previous transgressions.
They’re one out of a wildcard with the trade deadline days away. They shouldn’t have time to discuss anything anything but getting the team the pieces it needs for a push down the stretch. Cora can wait.
sneaky good team. if casas didn’t get hurt they’d be fighting for the division right now
LOL, Okay.
Yes, Casas is the reason they aren’t 20 games over .500 and in first place.
Casas is the reason they aren’t 20 games over .500
========================
Fail
1-dasit didn’t say they’d be in 1st, only that they’d be fighting for the division.
2-The RS are 6 games out, and obviously they’d be closer with Casas instead of Smith.
dasit – In that alternate universe where Casas doesn’t get hurt, safe to assume Cole & Stanton don’t get hurt either?
Bradish, Means and Bautista don’t get hurt either?
McClanahan, Rasmussen and Springs don’t get hurt either?
See how that works?
He cheated, and wasn’t punished beyond a one year dismissal.
Why is he still feted?
FO – Not even a year, it was a 60-game punishment. Absolutely ridiculous, especially considering Cora was the ringleader.
Please tell me I didn’t just read this! Cora is a big part of the dumpster fire that is the Red Sox. Should’ve kept Lovullo.
John Henry is one of the most woke owners in MLB. Had he not retained Cora, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he went after Gabe Kapler.
let – That is very true, John Henry is infatuated with Kapler.
In fact, the Red Sox had Kapler interview for Bloom’s job.
Can you believe it?
amazing how far unearned confidence can take a person
dasit – Well said. I’ve known my share of BS artists who have faked and lied their way to opportunities, unfortunately it’s the way of the world.
As long as the right person likes you, performance doesn’t matter.
I love this…troll free is gonna hate this when he pops in
I like Cora well enough, but not crazy about him.
But just the fact it’ll make KD’s head spin off into the cosmo is enough to make an extension worthwhile.
And just to make it more fun, if the RS make the playoffs, do you know who else lands a job this winter? Bloom. The RS will become the poster boy for a big-market rebuild.
Totally agree
So cheaters do prosper!
larkraxm
So cheaters do prosper!
========================
Cheaters get second chances. Do you have an issue with that?
Depends on the cheater and what they did, I suppose. I would not give a significant other a second chance to cheat on me. I would not have had a problem with Cora not getting a second chance to diminish the integrity of baseball if that answers your question.
Rosé cheated. He got a life time
Sox67;
He did not cheat, he broke a cardinal rule that had been on the books since the Black Sox sandal – no betting on baseball, no association with known gamblers. (i.e. giving them inside information)
He was the teams manager. Initially he lied about his actions.
No one else in that entire organization was involved.
Learn to evaluate situations based on the evidence. In short, grow up and develop a sense of perspective.
Who do you think will invest time in reading all that?
The SO is a little different since that it personal, and a fulltime job requiring trust. If you or one of your kids gets a DWI, are they banned from driving forever?
How do you keep all the passwords straight, Joe?
Maybe they should be. I wouldn’t have a problem if they were, if that answers your question. I don’t think Cora had too much to drink and had a momentary lapse of judgement. It was a premeditated, planned out and executed plan to break the rules in order to win. That is different to me than a 21-year-old making a bad decision one night after drinking.
I think the that the time served does not mean it never happened. But idiots like me haven’t forgotten that he was suspended for cheating (being one of the cheaters on a team of cheaters, if that makes you feel better). Should it be never mentioned again that he cheated and was suspended for cheating because he served a suspension for cheating?
Sooooo does this mean we’re buyers???
olm – Sox already down 3-0 right now.
Usually Pivetta is either excellent or awful, so not a good early sign.
Against the putrid Rockies. Sox season is over. Thus, reward Cora. smh
let – This is one of the most embarrassing performances of the season for the Red Sox. I said earlier Pivetta is usually fantastic or awful, but the defense today is inexcusable. Four errors already (the Rafaela play should have been one too).
Red Sox are very lucky Seattle suffered some key injuries just now, which likely means one less WC competitor.
20-5 in the 8th. The Rockies should go for the two-point conversion.
Fever Pitch Guy
Cora needs to stop experimenting with Rafaelа at shortstop.
Сedanne is the best defender at the club and his position is in the center.
If he had played the entire season at one position in center, he would already be a candidate for the Gold Glove.
News Cora is staying and the players are totally demoralized and give it up in Denver. 5-1 Rockies through 3.
8-1 now. Sox lost 4 of last 5 games prior to today and with today’s loss it will be 5 of last 6.
So when do you think the players started hearing rumors of a potential Cora extension? Over the All Star break?
How the Sox are doing against the Rockies today, or even in the series is irrelevant. This is baseball. It isn’t unusual for the best team in MLB to lose to the worst. Every team has peaks and valleys. If the best team is in a valley, while the worst team is at a peak, bad things happen to the better team. Plus the Rockies are a much better team at home than they are on the road.
The Rockies took 2 of 3 against the Guardians, swept the Rangers in 3, they’re 5 and 2 against the Padres. and went 2 – 1 against the Royals. Yet they were 1 – 2 against an even worse team in the WSox, and got swept by another bad team, the Marlins. You can’t read anything into the Sox performance against the Rockies.
Losing 5 of 6 since the ASB is relevant. Especially if that is when rumors of extending Cora hit the clubhouse. That is my point, not that they got crushed by the Rockies.
It’s not relevant. You’re ascribing causation to correlation. Every team has losing streaks. The Dodgers and Orioles each have had a 5 game losing streak. Had they made a move of some sort the day before, would that move have been the cause?
The Giants lost 4 of 5 following the AS break. What made them so unhappy that they dropped games to the lowly Jays? Maybe, like every other team in MLB, they just didn’t play well over a span of 5-6 days.
We don’t KNOW when they found out that RS were in talks with Cora over extension or if it is part of the cause of their profound slump.
YOU are ascribing negative causation.
Giants were already 3 games below .500 going into the break and have gone 2-5 since the break.
So beeeotch please.
Again, when they found out is completely irrelevant. Losing 5 of 6 games is so common through out baseball, that to try and connect it to the Cora extension is just plain silly.
Negative causation is much more probable than the outlier situation of the extension being the cause.
Also irrelevant is the Giants being 3 under below the break. That they were 3 games under shouldn’t mean they’d automatically lose 2 of 3 to a bad Rockies team.
It’s not too obvious why you totally ignored the losing streaks of the Orioles and Dodgers. And there’s more than those 2. The Padres lost 6 of 7. The Braves lost 6 of 7. And the Guardians lost 7 of 9. These are teams with the best records in MLB. I could go on but got tired of looking. So it’s completely moronic to ascribe the extension as the cause for a similar losing streak by better teams.
Hard for the Cubs to justify paying Craig Counsell what they are
FGH- Even harder for Hoyer to justify giving Counsell that money and then giving him no Closer and the worst bench in the history of baseball.
He should have been banned from baseball.
Hilarious to read all of the negative responses to this news. Have Red Sox fans EVER liked a manager??? Now the call is for Tek to become the next manager…..imagine it will take less than half a season before he will be the worst manager in Sox history within this comments section!
Tito!
Everyone loved Tito (but generally not so much after he was hired, but winning cures everything) last manager i can remember fans being somewhat happy about when he was hired was Kevin Kennedy, so it’s been a while…
Have Red Sox fans EVER liked a manager???
===========================
RS fans are among the stupidest fans in sports. Not all of them, but some of them shouldn’t be allowed out of their basement without guidance.
Some of them hated both Theo & Tito, despite winning 95 every year. Some of the actually preferred Valentine over Tito.
I remember the WTF? Moment when it was announced the Sox had hired Bobby V. And all i could think of is “this is going to be bad” and it was. Then they fired him and Bought Farrell from Toronto and won the World Series again
I remember when the preliminary RS lineup was posted in a game against Hendricks. It started every one of our righties. I remember posting that I thought Valentine had confused Hendriks (R) with Hendrickson (L). Sure enough, he changed it later that afternoon.
And still, some RS fans defended him.
azc – We liked Tito until he had his personal issues.
We liked Farrell a lot.
We liked Kennedy.
We liked Morgan.
wasn’t he a coach on a certain staff that fans boo? why the double standard?
I love this extension. Go ahead Sox, sign him for another ten years! Give him as much money as you can stuff in a trashcan. Love it.
You are a Yankees fan I take it.
I would hope not. At least Cora sports a ring, which is more than can be said for Boone. And Boone would have been fired several times already if George was still alive
Boonie is the new Billy
I feel so sorry for Red Sox fans. My condolences.
Why..aside from the several dozen people commenting here you can easily find plenty of people in baseball who think hes one of the best managers in the game
I can find more that think he is to blame for the team finishing in last place 3 of the last 4 years.
I lost track of all the rings the Pads have won.
Maybe he should start kicking the trash can to help the team win more games.
But you have to appreciate the sympathy from a SDP fan. Maybe “condolences” has a meaning I am unfamiliar with.
I’m happy. Sorry that’s not how everyone else feels.
I think it is a good move too.
Not everyone — just the usual TROLLS who make many overly long winded posts in an attempt to end any intelligent discussion.
I’m not sure how i feel about this. Championship in year one, last place the following year, the 2020 suspension, ALCS in his comeback year, back-to-back last place finishes and playing above expectations in what was a contract year. The pattern here is when his job is dependent on results the team wins and when the heat is off they do very poorly. I guess good for Alex, and maybe good for the Sox?
Rsox – Playing above expectations? It’s hard for me to believe that when you consider they are now 54-47 despite one of the easiest schedules in MLB. Let’s see how they do during the difficult 28-game stretch that begins tomorrow.
Remember, a year ago they were also 54-47 and they finished the season with just 78 wins.
Gotta factor in the schedule,and whether they are buyers or sellers.
Baseball America had the Sox ranked 23rd in their preseason Power rankings. Fangraphs projected them to finish the season only 8 games over .500. MLB.com ranked them at 22nd in their power rankings. Yes, the Red Sox have played above expectations this season.
Trollfree, They do have a fairly tough schedule. Their SOS is rated the 9th toughest in MLB, and 4th toughest in the AL.
They have 20 games against the WSox, Jays, Tigers, and Rangers. So far they’re 8-5 against those teams.
They have 29 games against the O’s, Yankees, Twins, Royals, Mets, and Astros. So far they’re 8 and 10 against those teams.
Considering their performance so far against their remaining opponents, and currently at 7 games over .500, I think it’s a huge assumption that they’ll play 8 games under .500 for the rest of the season.
My point though was that they have exceeded expectations. Their preseason playoff odds were 17%. Currently Fangraphs has their playoff odds at 36.7%. By all accounts they have exceeded expectations.
Trollfree,
“playing of the remainder of the schedule under .500 by 8 games is…set by the strength of schedule and more closely represents the skills of the teams than…luck”
Which is why I posted how well the Sox have performed against those teams on their schedule. Plus you’re assuming other teams will not slump, and that the Red Sox have been lucky. Boston has a + 29 run differential. That suggests their record isn’t just luck.
“TB is hot now unlike when they faced them earlier.”
TB has a -67 run differential. With their .500 record that suggests they’re the ones who have been lucky. Plus, it’s likely they’ll be sellers, and the team that Boston faces maybe reduced
I also think that the Rangers are going to have a difficult time making the PS. They currently sit 5 1/2 games out of a WC berth with 4 teams between them and the last spot. They have a +8 run differential, but they beat a horrible WSox team last night by 8 runs. That doesn’t inspire confidence. They have guys coming back from the IL, but most guys need a little time to get back to game speed. It may not be enough.
I think the Royals might nab that last WC spot leaving the Red Sox shy of the playoffs, But I still believe they have exceeded expectations and will not finish below .500.
Trollfree
The model predicts 10 less wins (77) based on strength of schedule of remaining games. I think it’s safe to say they will fall somewhere between those two numbers 77 and 87.
___________________________________________________
At the beginning of the season, you predicted 67 wins for the Red Sox.
Abreu and Valdez came in exchange for Vazquez during the Bloom period in 2022.
Abreu isn’t from Dombrowski’s draft.
Red Sox started the year with a 79.5 win O/U. Right now that is an 84.5 win O/U. They are playing about 5 games above what was expected at the beginning of the season.
Jean – The Red Sox run differential doesn’t mean squat because there’s so many factors impacting it, especially strength of schedule. If they have a negative run differential by the end of August, your theory goes up in smoke.
BTW – The Reds have a +39 run differential, does that mean at 49-53 they are a much better team than the Red Sox? Sure seems like that is what you are implying.
Fever Pitch,
“If they have a negative run differential by the end of August, your theory goes up in smoke.”
I don’t have a crystal ball, and I’ll be the first to admit I could be wrong. This is baseball after all.
In general I agree that run differential can be misleading. But I don’t believe that it’s totally useless. You’re right that it’s influenced by several factors, but despite outliers, like the Reds, it does correspond to the quality of the team and where they are in the standings.
The teams with the best run differential in each division also lead every division except one, the ALE.
The top 3 teams in every division, except one all have positive run differentials. The NLC is the only exception. The Reds and Cards play in that division, and both are clear outliers. Both, playing more intra-division games probably have had an odd impact on that division.
Run differentials can’t be completely ignored simply because one second place team has a better run differential than the first place team. Or, because two outlier teams out of 30, have reverse run differentials compared to their record, or position in the standings
I can’t quit you!
Brokesox Mountain.
Am I the only Red Sox fan pleased with this news?
Not at all. I’m not one of the fans that think he is a great manager, but I think he’s done okay.
Otto – You’re probably among the 20% of Red Sox Nation that is pleased.
If the contract is finalized, at least it’s only for 3 years.
Well below Counsell’s 5-year $40M contract which many “experts” had predicted Cora would match or beat.
I’m happy with the news. The chaos of trusting this ownership group to hire a replacement for Cora would be infinitely worse. He at least might keep them (sort of) honest.
Kind of expected a negative feedback on this news. Not sure I understand it but OK. The whole cheating thing has been overblown for years now. Breslow is a new GM so I get why he wants an experienced manager. It makes sense.
So we resign the manager, the plan had better be to get him some players.
Yikes!!! Took nap only down 3-0 !! Wake up 19-3!!! Kindergarten teacher was right… anytime is a good time for a nap!!!!
I hate missing sleep for bad games. Like staying up until 12:30 only to see them blow it in the 9th.
I have my issues with Cora but he’s one of the better managers in baseball right now. He’s
Cora gives the Red Sox legitimacy. He’s a top tier MLB manager right now – if they let him walk, they’re basically saying to their fans that they don’t care. They’ve said that a million other ways recently, but they know if they let Cora walk that would be a really bad look.
They also have a great pitching coach, but without Cora this team would have no stability going forward. Keeping Cora at least gives them that.
I have no idea what other supposed Red Sox fans on this site are talking about when they’re so critical of Cora. Look at the garbage he’s had to work with this season. Breslow did nothing last offseason and Cora has this mess on the doorstep of the playoffs. He’s a good manager and it’s silly to argue otherwise after this season.
@Carmina I don’t think it’s Cora that got them to where they’re at this season, I think it’s due more to the performances of Duran, O’Neill, Devers, Houck and the expertise of the new pitching coach.
It’s the players and Cora and his coaches. That’s why they are where they are, for better or worse. It’s all of them.
Giving players and only one coach all the credit is childish. Grow up.
How this dude was the ringleader of the Astros sign stealing scheme and didnt get a lifetime ban is nuts. Why any team would be willing to sign this guy makes no sense. Coras only regret is that he got caught.
Cry harder.
100% true, him and Beltran should have a lifetime ban for coming up with that whole thing.
Considering that Alex Cora is an American citizen, calling for his deportation seems a bit racist.
“Sacred, the power, being, or realm understood by religious persons to be at the core of existence and to have a transformative effect on their lives”. Who told you sports were supposed to be a sacred part of society? Baseball is a game. A few people play it. Many watch it. Thats pretty much it. If you’ve ever been to Cooperstown you’ll see that the hall of fame is more about the history of the marketing of the game than anything else. Its a wonderful game but there is nothing sacred about it
On the day Cora signs his extension the Broncos beat the Patriots 20-7
Banging those trashcans and cheating really paid off for Cora!
so all the bull about his next move to be Yankee manager was just pandering to getting a new deal from the Sox…….really!
He’s not the one who spread the Yankee talk
Dissappointed?
Missing the playoffs 4 of the last 5 yrs
Is the collapse coming this year? Just lost 2 of 3 and gave up 20 runs in the last game to a terrible Rockies team. Starters and relievers have looked terrible. A couple of relievers look like DFA material.
Currently 1.5 games behind in the wild card race.
If they stand pat they will collapse, they need a starter that goes 6+ every start. He doesn’t need to be perfect we can score, he just has to keep us in the game.
OK
They need to officially sell and build for 2025. They’ve been in this position the past two years and folded. I say sell, get back prospects, and prepare for 2025. 2024 is no given.
I think that sends the wrong message to this very young core..they need to throw this group a bone..not push all in but at least make an effort it will benefit them alot in the minds of these young men as well as let any possible free agents know this team is playing to win and perhaps avoid some embarrassment similar to the montgomery situation last winter
This pitching staff is regressing to the mean hard. Given injuries though I can’t blame this on Cora. Breslow needs to find some innings eaters and fast….
Not a Cora fan and I wish they would have used the time spent on this on an acquisition. My biggest fear is that nothing has changed in Boston except for the name on the “Chief Baseball Officer” office door and the deadline is going to leave little to like for the team and the fans. Again…….
Not at all. If only we knew what goes on behind doors in the front office eh
No way shape or form should he be coaching any major sport. Let alone the Sox.
There is something amiss that he’s still being paid all while Rose isn’t the Hall
Say what you want,he’s beyond what Rose done by cheating for a ring.
Further to that. He showed no respect for the game what so ever. So why should I show any for him. He’s a disgrace to the game
Good. Alternatives are not convincing. Not sure Varitek speaks.
Outstanding news!!
I’m a Cora supporter, but even I thought it was time to move and and hand the reigns to Varitek.
It’s possible they think Varitek is 3 years away.
Not when SF Giants interviewed him last year
A three-year extension for Alex Cora? Sound the trash cans.
As a Cora fan, I’m really kind of disappointed by this move. I like Alex Cora but I don’t like the results of last year and this year feels exactly the same. We need to apply accountability.
Cora would be a great asset on any team but I feel his time is done here and Varitek is in the wings. I think it’s time to give him a chance to see if we can make more out of talent we have.
I think Cora is the best manager if we get to the postseason, hands down. But the problem is he hasn’t gotten us there in 3 years and we are following almost an identical path this year as in 22 and 23.
Dude, his time isn’t done with the Red Sox. They just re-upped him for 3 years. Cora’s not going anywhere.
Varitek can get a job somewhere else if he doesn’t like it. And I would wish him well if he chooses to do that.
I know he’s still here. My post was in response to that. I’m on the fence.
Well, the Red Sox have the building blocks for 2025 – Devers, Duran, Rafaela, Houck, Crawford, add an ace to the starting rotation, 2 lefty/righty relievers instead of Martin and Jansen, move Whitlock to the bullpen, re-sign O’Neill, make Abreu the headliner in a deal for another starting pitcher while his value is high, with Anthony, Teel, Mayer, Yorke on the way, this team could compete with Baltimore and the Yankees to win the division in 2025.
SP 2025
1 – FA
2 – Houck
3 – Crawford
4 – change
5 – Bello
6 – Giolito
7 – Criswell
8 – Fitts
2025
1.Duran LF
2.O’Neill / Anthony RF mid 2025
3.Devers 3B
4.Casas 1B
5. Yorke/Grissom 2B
6. Yoshida DH
7. Story / Mayer SS mid 2025
8. Wong / Teel C mid 2025
9. Rafaela CF
very sexual lineup
I forgot to note that Yorkе and Lugo purposefully play in the outfield so that there is no congestion at second base.
And they’re right-handed, which is important for the left-skewed Red Sox lineup considering their top prospects are left-handed (Anthony, Mayer, Teel).
TF. ..fwiw according to Forbes the red sox were valued at 2.8 Billion in 2018 when they initially brought Cora on board in 2023 and 2024 that value is 4.5 Billion dollars i think John Henry and other investors are just fine with all the moves that have taken plave since 2018..that an incedible ROI ..what you call pathetic has them laughing all the way to the bank..so..yea the franchise value is safe.
I might get crushed for this one but I don’t understand how tying how much cheating he did to his punishment. He cheated. Whether one game or 90 he cheated. Because no one caught them for 89 games means he deserves more punishment? I don’t agree with that he knew he was cheating day one getting away with it 89 more times doesn’t worsen it. That was the idea was to get away with it just like every other post of every other cheating scandal I’ve read. If they caught him after a week did he “cheat less”? No he cheated the same for a shorter time.
Alex Rodriguez cheated too, a lot. He’s worked for TV since for many years. He’s frequently mentioned as trying to be involved with ownership groups of teams. He’s involved with the Miami Boys & Girls Club. My point? I don’t like ARod, but his life went on, he’s doing something with it.
A lot of people here just want players and managers banned for life. It’s an idiotic, simplistic viewpoint. It’s something dolts parrot when others dolts say it. Life doesn’t work that way. It goes on. It’s complicated. Try to keep up.