Might Alex Cora be the latest Red Sox presence to flip to the other side of the rivalry?
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees are one of the more likely teams to employ Cora as their manager for the 2025 season.
While appearing on Foul Territory on June 13, Rosenthal mentioned the Yankees as one of three teams that could fire their manager “if things don’t go the way they want them to” and/or “somehow flames out in the playoffs.”
The 2024 season is appearing to be Alex Cora’s last in Boston
Rosenthal also said that the Dodgers and Cardinals could have openings that might be appealing for Cora.
Notably, Rosenthal cited that Cora could take a year-long reprieve — similar to what Bill Belichick is currently doing in the NFL — or even transition to a front office role..
MassLive.com Red Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo also listed the Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies as possible landing spots for Cora.
“I don’t think Alex Cora’s going to be back here,” Cotillo added. “I think he wants a big-market challenge, and he’s not going to let rivalry get in the way if the Yankees are going to offer.”
During the “Sunday Night Baseball” Yankees-Red Sox telecast, ESPN’s Buster Olney echoed both reports, positing that he believes Cora will hit the open market but could sit out the 2025 season.
There are several elements to sort out regarding any sort of Cora-Yankees chatter.
The first and most obvious is the Yankees’ success: the team holds not only the best record in baseball at 50-24, but also is tied for its seventh-best mark through 74 games in team history.
Although Boone has a club option in his contract for 2025, it would currently come as a gigantic surprise if the team did not exercise it based on the team’s 2024 performance thus far.
Aaron Boone has led the Yankees to two ALCS appearances and the best record in the majors this season
While the Yankees have generally underwhelmed in the postseason with Boone, still not snapping their 14-year streak of not making the World Series, the team has only lost its first playoff series once in Boone’s tenure.
Even after last year’s listless 82-80 season, the Yankees still kept Boone but elected to make major roster changes instead of finding a new leader.
It would be hard to envision such a drastic and sudden shift in blame from owner Hal Steinbrenner and other Yankees brass.
The other key factor is Cora’s abilities in Boston.
The Red Sox sit 37-35 despite broad expectations the team would be below average in 2024.
Cora has overseen the development of previously up-and-down players such as Tanner Houck, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, Kutter Crawford and Wilyer Abreu.
With supplemental hitting from star Rafael Devers and a resurgence from slugger Tyler O’Neill, the team is in far better shape than prognosticated through this point in the season.
Aaron Boone has led the Yankees to two ALCS appearances and the best record in the majors this season
While Cora may not want to manage in Boston for a seventh season, the Red Sox would seem highly likely to want to retain him based on his long-term success and well-lauded baseball IQ.
With over half of the baseball season — plus the playoffs — left in tow, there’s still a whole lot left to be determined regarding both Cora’s and Boone’s fates.
For now, Rosenthal’s report is, at the very least, an eyebrow-raising suggestion.
