BOSTON — Manager Alex Cora likely won’t have to answer the question of whether he can imagine managing the Yankees, or any other team, next season.
If any teams had their eye on the Red Sox captain, who is set to become a free agent after this season, those discussions are over.
Cora, who signed a new three-year contract extension worth $21.75 million this week, will likely be able to avoid any questions about his future.
“After all, how many people [my family and I] “Regardless of the last two years, I just love this city and how great it is,” Cora said before Friday’s game, when the Red Sox beat the Yankees 9-7. “Honestly, this is a dream job. I’ve fallen in love with this city.”
Craig Counsell finished his contract with the Brewers last year, became a free agent and ultimately signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Cubs that completely changed the managerial market.
Cora, regarded as one of the best players in baseball, could have used his influence, like Counsell, to gauge whether the Yankees would be willing to trade Aaron Boone at season’s end and, of course, what kind of contract other teams would be willing to offer.
Instead, he used his influence to get what Boone calls with a smile, “a pretty good deal.”
“I’m happy for him,” Boone said. “Obviously he’s a big part of that organization and the job he does. Really one of the great coaches in the sport. I’m happy for him, obviously.”
“He’ll pay next time we meet.”
While money was certainly important to Cora, he said the two most important things were winning and having a comfortable place to live for his family.
His family is happy in Boston, he names his favorite players in both the major leagues and the Red Sox minor leagues, and he hopes the winning streak continues.
Cora and his family are happy with the Red Sox, in large part because the organization has welcomed them back.
Cora was fired in January 2020 and suspended the following season after the league investigated the Astros for misconduct in 2017 while he was bench coach and found to have been one of the ringleaders of a sign-stealing system.
He returns in 2021 as a leader in Boston’s clubhouse.
“They took a chance on me in 2017,” said Cora, who was hired in October 2017. “After the scandal and the suspension, they gave me a chance to come to the team, and that was a big part of our decision.”
