Insiders give surprising update on Red Sox manager's future

Entering the final year of his contract, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in mid-February that he wasn't sure what his future was with the organization but admitted that there's "more to life than baseball."

Many fans and analysts alike took Cora's words to mean that his days in Beantown were limited and the team could very well be looking for another manager this offseason.

It was reported on Wednesday that Cora will not only be extending his stay with the Red Sox to 2025, but the 48-year-old had agreed to remain in Boston for multiple seasons after that as well.

ESPN's Jeff Passan and Buster Olney first broke the news and both MLB Network insider Jon Heyman and MLB.com's Ian Browne confirmed that Cora had agreed to the extension.

"Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow joined the club in Denver for the final two games of a six-game road trip, which could be related to negotiations with Cora, but not definitely. At the very least, it added some intrigue to the situation," Browne wrote, adding that the Red Sox hadn't commented on Wednesday's reports.

Cora made his managerial debut with Boston in 2018, leading them to a 108-54 record in the regular season and their fourth championship of the millennium. The group regressed to 84-78 in 2019 before the leader in the dugout was implicated in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways prior to the 2020 season.

He served a one-year suspension in 2020 and then signed a two-year deal with a two-year option to return to the Red Sox in 2021. Boston went 92-70 in the regular season and eventually lost to the Astros in that season's ALCS.

The last two seasons have been rough for Cora's squad, as they've posted back-to-back 78-84 marks to finish last in the AL East. The Red Sox have exceeded expectations thus far in 2024, as they sit at 54-46, good for third place in the division and six games behind the Baltimore Orioles (60-40).

More importantly, Boston is just one game back of the Kansas City Royals (56-46) for the third and final AL wild-card spot.