Alex Cora could end up returning as Red Sox manager, but it hasn’t happened yet. He is reportedly one of five finalists for the job, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and general manager Brian O’Halloran reportedly met with him late last week.
Yet the managerial search continues, with nothing announced so far.
Lou Merloni, for one, thinks there’s a real chance Bloom and Co. ultimately decided not to go with Cora. (Listen to the full segment here.)
“When they talked to him right after the World Series and then went out to meet with him, I thought, ‘OK, this thing is like a done deal.’ The further we get away from it, I’m thinking Bloom doesn’t want him,” Merloni said Wednesday on Ordway, Merloni and Fauria.
“And it was out of respect -- of course you’re going to be part of the managerial interview. I know Alex wanted to interview. He’s very interested in this job. So out of respect, we’ll give you an interview. You know what, we’ll even fly out to see you. Because they did -- they flew out to Puerto Rico to see him, Bloom and Brian O’Halloran, the general manager. Now that we’re getting farther and farther away from it… this is one of the easiest hires in the world if Chaim Bloom wants him.”
Merloni said Cora wants the job he held from 2018-19 before a mutual parting of ways after Cora’s involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal was revealed. Major League Baseball suspended Cora for the 2020 season, with the suspension ending after this year’s World Series concluded.
“Alex wants the job,” Merloni said. “This is the easiest hire in the world if Bloom wants him. OK, good, we’re done here. The further we get away, I don’t think Bloom wants him.”