When Alex Cora spoke to the media at the start of spring training in 2024, he claimed that he didn’t intend to be a baseball manager for the rest of his life, stating that “there’s more in life than baseball.” And though his tenure as Red Sox manager ended a lot sooner than he or anybody else anticipated, the 50-year-old has followed through on his declaration.
He first did that in April, when he turned down an offer to manager the Phillies. And it’s now happened again, as he told the Phillies that he doesn’t intend to work in MLB for the 2027 season, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
“Cora informed [Phillies president of baseball operations Dave] Dombrowski he’s taking the season off,” Nightengale reported.
Dombrowski, who ran the Red Sox’ baseball operations from 2015-19, fired John Farrell after the 2017 season and hired Cora for his first managerial job. Cora led the Red Sox to a World Series victory in Year 1. And though the Red Sox fired Dombrowski late in the 2019 season, Cora remained a logical choice as Dombrowski’s next hire in Philadelphia after firing Rob Thomson in late April this past season.
Nevertheless, Cora took the 2026 season off following his firing on April 25, and he’ll continue to watch baseball from afar in 2027.
That’s not the most difficult choice for Cora, considering he’s still owed more than $7 million by the Red Sox, who in the summer of 2024 extended Cora through 2027 on a three-year, $21.75 million contract.
