Alex Cora tells Jones & Mego on eve of Opening Day that he hasn't discussed new contract with Red Sox

The Red Sox -- officially -- will be entering 2024 with a lame duck manager.

Alex Cora is entering the final year of his contract, and he told Jones & Mego on the eve of Opening Day that there have been no discussions about a new deal.

“No, we haven’t talked about it, and I respect that,” Cora said. “From my end, it’s the same thing. We understand where we’re at as an organization, and where I’m at contract-wise.”

Cora emerged as one of the best managers in baseball before parting with the team ahead of the 2020 campaign for his role in the Astros cheating scandal. His return to Boston has yielded mixed results, with a trip to the ALCS in 2021 before two last place finishes.

Add in the fact that the team now has a new president of baseball operations in Craig Breslow, and there’s plenty of uncertainty in Cora’s future.

That said, teams would be lining up to hire Cora if the Red Sox opted against bringing him back. He has had underwhelming rosters since his return to Boston, and is far down on the list of things sinking the Red Sox.

It sounds though that Cora would be amenable to staying if such an opportunity presented itself.

“Obviously, we know the situation, right? This is the last year of my contract,” Cora said. “I love this place, my family enjoys being around the city and we love where we live. And the summers are great (in Boston). But understanding that this is business, my job is to help this team to be successful and play in October.

“Whatever we decide, whatever happens in the future is the future, but right now, man, we’ve got to live in the present because the last two years everybody knows what we’ve done. We finished last. That’s not acceptable for me, for the organization, for you guys, for the fanbase. So, I’ll keep it at that. I respect the fact that everybody is going to be asking about next year, but let’s take care of this year, have a great season, and let’s see what the future holds.”

Cora has made clear that he doesn’t intend to spend the rest of his life in the dugout. He has four kids, including 6-year-old twins, and has the skills to serve a variety of roles in an organization or in the media – a role that would be less of a grind than managing a team.

In any case, he seems comfortable with his current lot in life.

“For some reason, there’s a very calm sense of where I’m at and I love what I’m doing right now. I enjoy everything that is going on with the Red Sox, but at the same time, I (have family priorities). They miss me, and I love my kids and they keep growing. They’re only 6, at one point I would love to coach them. Although I did in the offseason, that was kind of terrible (because of the parents), it was a bad experience to be honest with you. …

“At one point, I want to be there for my family. I’m 48, I’m still young, but at the same time they mean too much to me. We’re going to enjoy this one, we will. As a family, they’re having a blast and hopefully we can enjoy this all the way to the end of October.”