Red Sox bring back Alex Cora less than a year after parting ways with him

Alex Cora is manager of the Boston Red Sox once again, according to multiple media reports, less than a year after he and the team agreed to part ways in the wake of the Houston Astros cheating scandal.

Cora, a former Dodgers player, was the bench coach for the Astros when they won the 2017 World Series over the Dodgers. He was hired as Boston’s manager the following offseason and led his new team to the 2018 World Series title, again over the Dodgers.

But Major League Baseball released a report Jan. 13 revealing that the Astros had used technology to steal signs during their championship season, with Cora mentioned as a key figure in the scheme.

A day later, Cora and the Red Sox went their separate ways. He was eventually suspended for one season by MLB for his role in the scandal. Cora was not implicated in Boston’s own sign-stealing scandal, which MLB blamed on replay coordinator J.T. Watkins.

Ron Roenicke, who served as Cora’s bench coach, was named the Red Sox manager. But he was not retained following Boston’s 24-36 finish in the shortened 2020 season.

Also in the aftermath of the Astros scandal, Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch lost their jobs after being suspended one season by MLB. Hinch was named manager of the Detroit Tigers last week.

The New York Mets parted ways with newly hired manager Carlos Beltrán, an outfielder on the 2017 Astros team, days after the scandal broke.