Red Sox exercise manager Alex Cora’s options for 2023 and 2024

The tenure of Red Sox manager has not been without its trials and tribulations. After winning the World Series in his rookie season as a manager in 2018, the signing stealing scandal that enveloped the Houston Astros also caught up with Cora and the Red Sox as he was a coach for the Astros during the time that the cheating was occurring and was reported to be a part of it. In 2020, the team and Cora agreed to part ways and Cora was suspended for the 2020 season.

However, once his punishment was lifted, Boston re-hired Cora in a somewhat eyebrow raising move but it is hard to argue with the results. In what was a very tough AL East division race, Boston more than held their own and ended up being the last team standing from the division in the playoffs before falling to the Astros in the ALCS.

Now, it looks like the team wants to keep Cora around for a while.

With the Red Sox exercising their options on Cora for 2023 and 2024, Cora’s deal is essentially converted into a guaranteed four year payday. While some may find that a bit gross given the less than ethical practices Cora is associated with, the Red Sox clearly think that having him as their skipper outweighs the potential drawbacks.