'This is home': Red Sox, Cora agree to three-year extension

DENVER -- While Red Sox manager Alex Cora steadfastly maintained throughout the season that he wouldn’t talk about his contract situation, there is now something to talk about.

Cora and the Red Sox agreed on a contract extension that covers the 2025-27 seasons, the team announced on Wednesday. Cora will make more than $7 million per season, per multiple reports.

“We're very happy with what this organization means to us,” said Cora. “It’s the world. We’ve been talking for a little bit here, and talking to [my partner] Angelica [and daughter] Camila, and this is home for us. I just want to be happy and comfortable.”

When chief baseball officer Craig Breslow arrived in Denver late Tuesday afternoon for the final two days of Boston’s six-game road trip, it was a clue that there was developing news.

Shortly before Wednesday’s 20-7 loss to the Rockies, word began to circulate that Cora was on the verge of signing an extension.

“He became the closer yesterday,” Cora said of Breslow.

Not that Breslow ever doubted that retaining Cora was the right choice, but he got instant feedback when he walked into the clubhouse after the news of the extension started to leak.

“How do you know that this was the right decision? When I walked into the clubhouse, I got a round of applause, which means obviously those players care about him,” Breslow said. “They know how special he is. I think the city of Boston knows how special he is. We’re really excited about what we can do together.”

With Breslow getting hired as Boston’s chief baseball officer last offseason and inheriting a manager in Cora who was entering the final year of his contract, both sides spent some time building a working relationship before making any decisions on if their partnership should continue beyond 2024.

Behind Cora, the Red Sox have been one of MLB’s most surprising contenders this year after finishing in last place in the American League East with identical 78-84 records in the past two seasons.

As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the Cora-Breslow relationship continued to build momentum.

“Alex and I have had a relationship for a while, but it’s developed over the last eight months or whatever it is,” said Breslow. “I think in my position, you look for someone who’s a partner in the manager’s seat, someone who can question and challenge when it’s appropriate, and do so in a productive way, who can champion what we’re trying to do as an organization.

“I’ve seen that happen over the last several months. And beyond that, Alex is such a great connector of people. His ability to navigate a clubhouse and a front office and connect with veteran players and young players, and obviously being bilingual is an incredible benefit. But I just think through time, we’ve grown much more comfortable with each other. I’m super excited about where we are today and what I think the future holds.”

After a relatively quiet offseason for the Red Sox, Cora leaned into the development of his young core as the key to the team’s success this season.

And that has played out, with first-time All-Stars Jarren Duran and Tanner Houck having breakout seasons, and rookies Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and David Hamilton also becoming key contributors and adding more athleticism to the club.

“I believed in the group from the get-go,” said Cora. “I think where we’re going as far as the athleticism and the versatility and obviously having [Rafael Devers] leading the way, it felt like we were going to have a good season. Obviously, the pitching part of it is a little bit different compared to in the past. I think there is more structure and the philosophy is different and it’s going to keep going.”

Though the Red Sox faced a barrage of injuries, including season-enders to Lucas Giolito, Trevor Story and Garrett Whitlock, Cora kept the club on track as the young core has continued to evolve.

“I think he’s been a huge part,” said Duran. “He’s always telling us to stay focused on each other, block out the noise and not get caught up in all the stuff being said about us. He’s really good at that and he’s kept us really close as a group.”

Following Boston's loss to the Rockies, the team is 54-47 and in third place in the American League East, 6 1/2 games behind the Orioles and just 1 1/2 games behind the Royals for the third AL Wild Card spot.

This is Cora’s sixth season managing the Red Sox. He guided the club to the best record in franchise history (108-54) in 2018 en route to the team’s fourth World Series title in the 21st century.

Prior to the 2020 season, Cora and the Red Sox parted ways due to MLB’s findings that Cora played a role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal as their bench coach in ‘17. Cora was also suspended by MLB for that season. The Red Sox interviewed several candidates to replace Ron Roenicke as manager prior to the 2021 season, and selected Cora.

“They doubled down on me in ‘21 after everything that happened from ‘17,” Cora said.

The decision to bring Cora back was instantly rewarded when the Red Sox made a deep run in 2021, clinching an AL Wild Card berth on the final day of the regular season, upsetting a 100-win Rays squad in the ALDS and holding a 2-1 lead in the ALCS before losing to the Astros in six games.

This season, the Sox are looking to get back to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus, and Cora and his coaching staff have been instrumental so far in giving them a chance to do that.

Cora is fourth in Red Sox history in managerial wins, with a record of 494-417.

“I’ve been talking to Craig for a little bit here,” said Cora. “There were two things that I wanted: I wanted to win, and I wanted security for my family. And we have accomplished both.”