The Reds are hiring Terry Francona as their next manager, per a report from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The club has not yet confirmed the news, but Feinsand indicates an announcement is expected as soon as tomorrow. Per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Francona’s contract is a three-year deal.
Francona, 65, is among the most decorated managers in the league’s recent history. After a four-year stint managing the Phillies in the late 90s, Francona joined the Red Sox as manager prior to the 2004 season and piloted the club to their curse-breaking World Series championship in 2004. He went on to spend eight seasons in Boston, making the postseason in five of those years (including another World Series championship in 2007) while never posting a below-.500 season. He parted ways with the Red Sox prior to the 2011 season, however, and spent the next year away from managing with four top-5 finishes in AL Manager of the Year voting to his name in addition to a pair of World Series rings.
He returned to managing just a year after departing Boston, however, and spent the next 11 seasons in Cleveland. Francona’s tenure with the club was nothing short of magnificent, as he piloted the small-market franchise into consistent contention despite considerable payroll restrictions. During Francona’s tenure as manager, Cleveland enjoyed postseason baseball in six seasons while rattling off eight consecutive winning seasons and even reaching Game 7 of the World Series in 2016.
While the club ultimately fell to the Cubs in extra innings and was unable to capture another AL pennant during Francona’s tenure, their 2017 campaign was almost as impressive in some ways as Francona led them through a 22-game win streak that’s the longest in AL history and second only to the 1916 New York Giants’ 26-game win streak in MLB history. Francona’s 11 seasons with Cleveland saw him win three Manager of the Year awards as he captured the honor in 2013, 2016, and most recently in 2022 when he piloted the Guardians to an unlikely AL Central division title and within one game of the club’s first ALCS since 2016.
Francona’s time with the Guardians came to an end when he stepped down following the 2023 season amid long-standing health issues. At the time of his departure from the manager’s chair, Francona indicated to reporters (including those at ESPN) that his priority for 2024 was to “go home and get healthy and see what I miss about the game.” Clearly, the veteran skipper has decided that he misses being at the helm of a big league dugout as he will now return to Ohio as manager of the Reds, his first NL job since departing the Phillies in 2000.
He joins up with Cincinnati following a disappointing season that saw the club take a step back from last year’s 82-80 effort with a 77-85 season despite major breakouts for both star shortstop Elly De La Cruz and hard-throwing righty Hunter Greene. Injuries to key pieces like Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand likely played a role in the club’s struggles but whatever hopes the club may have for health-related improvement next year wasn’t enough to convince the front office to retain David Bell, who missed the playoffs in five of his six seasons with the Reds. The club’s managerial search reportedly included younger names such as former Cubs skipper David Ross and departing Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, but the Reds will instead lean on Francona’s decades of experience in order to turn things around for the organization.
With Francona now in place, the Reds have now addressed perhaps the biggest question mark facing them this winter as they look towards the offseason with plenty of other hurdles that will need to be addressed. Chief among those could be their TV revenue situation, as Diamond Sports is reportedly planning to cut ties with the club, which could leave their financial picture uncertain headed into 2025. That’s a frustrating situation for any club, but perhaps especially for a Reds team that already runs among the league’s lower payrolls and figures to lose Nick Martinez to the open market later this winter on the heels of an excellent 2024 campaign that saw him help shore up both the club’s rotation and bullpen throughout the year.
jdgoat
Wow that’s out of nowhere. Great hire for a young team.
5TUNT1N
Was thinking the same thing, great developmental coach for the youth in Cincy. He’s probably said it before but he must really like younger teams.
5TUNT1N
Didn’t he just leave Cleveland!
SFBay314
Cleveland rocks? Guess not. Ohio Problems
NYCityRiddler
The Reds are about to go to the next level, hang on tight. Ahahaha!
mrkinsm
He’s taking Mimi Bobeck with him as assistant.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Ditching Cleveland for Cincinnati is insane it had to be the other Ohio team
I hope the Cleveland faithful won’t boo him
Samuel
Wow!
If true, he’ll straighten out that team.
mrkinsm
Straighten out the team? Only happens if the FO makes better personnel decisions. Which will likely require a lot of money the Castellini’s have not yet been willing to spend.
I Believe We Can Win
They have a good young core of cheap infielders
They have some decent OF pieces
They really just need to sign an ace like Corbin Burnes and bring in a pitching coach staff to help Greene Lodolo Lowder Burns Phillips Williamson live up to their draft billing and stay healthy.
At best they should spend to improve the pen
Citizen1
Sounds like a plan to lose the wildcard series.
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
For his health he better lay off the Skyline Chili
Bucket Number Six
That crap was really disappointing when I visited Cincinnati.
Wire to wire 2024
Goldstar is better, but cincy chili isn’t for everyone idk why people act like you have to try it..
Jim A.
I think it’s because any time you mention Cincinnati to people, they say “you’ve got to try Skyline Chili’- I visited Cincinnati over the summer and I tried it, I didn’t think it was bad and if I lived there, I would probably eat there once or twice a year.
yeasties
I think the trick is to think of it as fastfood spaghetti and not “chili”
THEY LIVE!!!
Wendy’s has way better chili. In fact, just about everyone else is better than Skyline.
b00giem@n
It isn’t chili it’s literally beef juice.
b00giem@n
I can not understand ingesting something that looks like it has already been digested and passed.. it’s terrible. I am a reds fan and of all the shortcomings I can complain about it’s the skyline propaganda I am exposed to endlessly be it watching the game on TV or being at the stadium.
SFBay314
Tito, drop the “Sox” it’s cleaner.
– Sean Parker (probably)
longines64
I thought that health issues were why he left Cleveland?
Fever Pitch Guy
longine – It was, but as I mentioned here months ago Tito has been doing much better healthwise and was expected to return to managing.
Vogt won the division, so it wouldn’t make sense to demote/fire him just to bring Tito back.
Fred McGriff HR
@FPG
Please get the name of the watch right, it’s most important.
Unclemike1525
I thought the same thing , That he quit for his health. Well if he’s coming back that means he got shoved out the door. Be interesting to see what happens. I can’t imagine he came back without at least SOME assurances that they’ll spend something.
Mehmehmeh
Surprising. But it’s good for baseball to have Tito back in the game. I will have to start following the Reds more. This is the best possible move they could have made.
Sox67
Like WTF thought he retired.
Great for baseball he’s back.
This one belongs to the Reds
Wow. They couldn’t have gotten a better one, and he always gets a lot out of young players. Well done.
I always give kudos when it is due.
rct
Congrats, bud. I know you’re always cynical about the Reds but this is a very nice move for them.
mlb fan
Terry Francona is one of the few managers worth watching in the post game press conference. I feel he could be just what the Reds need.
naterz321
Oh heck yeah!
Bucket Number Six
If Tito missed the game, why not? If he wants to die in the dugout, good for him!
If Counsell is making $8 million per year, I hope Francona makes $9 million.
wvredsfan
Wow…
WestVillageTiger
That was a short retirement! Sounds like the health issues are no longer a concern. Welcome back, Sir!
DeepDownSouth
He was sick of Cleveland
Samuel
He squared away a Cleveland FO that was going in circles.
Let’s see if he can do the same in Cincinnati.
oscar gamble
Huge hire for the Reds if they don’t cheap out on the players.
stymeedone
Yeah! They will have to raise payroll to the Cleveland level! ( unless that would require a drop. )
jmlang
First the Rangers brought back Bouchy, now the Reds with Tito, something to be said for the old guard.
The NL Central just a lot more competitive, great hire for the Reds.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
And the Astros brought in Dusty Baker.
mlb1225
Time for the Pirates to bring back Jim Leyland.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
And for the Marlins Jack McKeon. He’s 93 though he’ll need them to install a accessible ramp for his rascal scooter for pitching changes.
PeteRose’s Bookie
I hope the Reds plan on spending some money contending. I don’t want to see Tito come out of retirement for nothing.
ChuckyNJ
Do you have the money to help the Reds sign ballplayers? Reds just had their local TV contract canceled in the Diamond Sports bankruptcy.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Short retirement for Francona. Hard to give up the game he loves.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
This is almost as unexpected as tony la Russa getting hired a few years ago or Bruce bochy
Why did Tito come back even with the health problems?
Bdonnell
Even if results don’t come, this was the right hire. No question Francona will do the job in the dugout and in the clubhouse, hopefully the front office hears his new voice and gives him what he tells them he needs to get into the playoffs.
mlb fan
“We stayed away from chicken and beer. That really helped. I may as well get that out of the way” – Former Guardian’s Mgr. Terry Francona on the Guardian’s latest hot finish.
King123
Yes!
James Midway
Wow did not see that coming. They must have had a really good pitch to bring him back.
mikeyny
Terry is old with health problems. Tony Larussa 2.0
Larry Brown's crank
Can i be the first with a Trevor bauer reunion post?
THEY LIVE!!!
You beat me to it!
theoldviolin
Analytics are great, but you also have to have a “feel” for the game, which is where Bell missed out. Francona has it, not always a by the book guy, and I love it. Look for Elly to take a big step next year.
Cohens_Wallet
NL will be a force with this guy on our side next year. I love my Mets but I’m a National League guy, having Tito in the NL is going to be fun.
westcasey
I do not think this is a good hire. Francona’s health is prohibitive. He has lost his feel for the games’ impromptu decisions. He is a good company man but not a strong fit for a younger, developing team.
basquiat
I think it was Theo Epstein, in a documentary on Tito, who said he asked him once, ‘Do you even have a life outside the dugout?’
alwaysgo4two
Next we’ll see Jim Leyland replacing Shelton. Pirates fans can only hope.
ClevelandSpidersFromMars
Pirates have been foolish not to have hired their homeboy Francona. There’s nothing the Guardians have done in the last 12 years that the Pirates couldn’t have done. It’s not about money, which is similar. It’s about management, on and off the field.
YourDreamGM
Pirates fans would be happy seeing anyone replacing Shelton. Not happening this year.
pjmcnu
I’m surprised the article didn’t mention that Tito left Cleveland because of serious health issues. He needed 1, if not 2, surgeries and lots of rest. Looks like the year+ did him good and he’s ready to get back at it. Good for him.
Mike56
After 2011 season he interviewed for manager of Cardinals after LaRussa retired. Think he was really considered before giving job to Mike Matheny. Matheny I believe is a fine person but if Tito was hired with the talent still there might have brought at least one more title to Cards.
SoxBruinsSaints
I’m glad whatever health issues Tito had he’s over. Miss him in Boston.
hiflew
Well everyone was convinced they were going to hire a former Reds player in David Ross or Skip Schumaker. They were technically right, they just needed to go back about 25 years further on Reds rosters. Francona was a Reds player in 1987.
Cincyfan85
Yes! Yes! Yes!
joblo
Damn, I wanted the Pirates to fire Shelton and hire Tito. His hometown is in the Pittsburgh suburbs. Guess that’s too easy.
Saint Nick
This is a great hire for Cincinnati.
Joemo
As a long time Sox fan, I am a huge fan of Tito as well. Best of luck! Gives me another reason to go to Cincinnati and catch a game.
CKinSTL
Great hire for the Reds and hopefully a good sign that Tito’s health issues have been resolved.
fenwayfrank
So happy for Tito, the Reds and MLB. He is the greatest manager the Redsox have ever had. I wish him nothing but the greatest success!!
KCMOWHOA
WKRP in Cincinnati
DarrenDreifortsContract
I was hoping the Dodgers would hire him after Dave Roberts chokes in another postseason.
Marc (Phillies Phan)
I believe he was fired too quickly with the Phillies but he has gone on and done some great things since. I love the guy and I will root for the Reds – so long as they’re not playing the Phillies of course.
Old York
Reds: 2025 MLB champs.