On Saturday night, the Boston Red Sox stunned the collective baseball world when they decided to fire manager Alex Cora in the wake of a blowout 17-1 defeat over the Baltimore Orioles. While everybody was curious to see how the Red Sox planned on replacing Cora, one team many folks turned their attention to in the immediate aftermath of this move was the Philadelphia Phillies.
Similar to Boston, Philly has been a major disappointment to begin the year, with its own manager, Rob Thomson, finding himself on the hot seat. Now that Cora is available, he could be a potential option to replace Thomson should the team decide to move on from him, with MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggesting that the longtime Sox manager could be brought to town as early as this week.
Phillies Could Be Interested in Alex Cora
Cora was initially hired by Boston back in 2018, and he promptly led the team to a World Series victory. Since then, Cora has struggled to consistently keep the Red Sox in playoff contention, and he briefly spent a year away from the team during the shortened 2020 season due to his involvement in the Houston Astros‘ sign-stealing scandal.
Despite entering the year with heightened expectations after making a surprise run to the playoffs last year, Boston fell flat on its face to begin the year, and Cora ended up being the scapegoat. While he certainly needs to shoulder some of the blame for the team’s struggles, it’s tough to say he’s the only person responsible, given ownership’s continued desire to invest as minimally as possible into this team.
Across the league, Cora is widely viewed as a top-tier managerial candidate, and his arrival on the market could incentivize a team like the Phillies to make a change in their clubhouse, too. Nightengale was quick to note Cora’s connection to Philadelphia general manager Dave Dombrowski, which could ultimately lead to some big changes being made very quickly.
“He could be managing the Philadelphia Phillies by the time they return home Tuesday, April 28,” Nightengale opined. “The worst-kept secret in baseball is that Dave Dombrowski loves Cora from their days together in Boston, hiring him in 2017 and winning the World Series a year later. While Dombrowski expressed his public support of Thomson three days ago, and insisted his job is safe, Dombrowski didn’t realize Cora was about to be fired.”
Should the Phillies Replace Rob Thomson with Alex Cora?
GettyBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – AUGUST 23: Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora looks on during the third inning at Fenway Park on August 23, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
For the time being, Thomson has been viewed as safe, but Cora becoming available could change things. With teams like the New York Mets and Houston Astros also potentially set to consider replacing Carlos Mendoza and Joe Espada, respectively, now that Cora is up for grabs, the Phillies need to make a quick decision on Thomson’s future with the team.
It was always somewhat surprising to see Thomson stick with Philly heading into 2026, and with things on the verge of going off the rails, this could be the perfect time to move on from him. A lot would have to happen in order for this sort of move to come to fruition, but Dombrowski’s connection to Cora could be all the Phillies need to bring the recently fired manager to town.
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