NASHVILLE -- Considering that Alex Cora is a well-established manager who has a World Series championship trophy under his belt, going into the 2024 season with just a year left on his contract could lead to some insecurity, or even some annoyance.

But Cora stated Tuesday at the Winter Meetings that he’s at peace with his contract situation and will be comfortable however it plays out with new Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

“I'm very comfortable with it,” Cora said. “I think at the end of the day, if [my partner] Angelica is happy and the boys are happy and my daughter is happy, we're fine. I understand how it works. I know it’s something we're going to discuss. We're going to talk [in] time, but I think right now from my end, I'm not being selfish. I think the most important thing right now is to make this team better.”

Coming off back-to-back 78-84 seasons, Cora isn’t happy with the way things have gone. He’s determined to work in tandem with Breslow to get Boston back to its winning ways.

“We're in the process now of trying to acquire guys, and there's talks about trades and all that stuff,” said Cora. “So let's do that first. Whenever they want to talk about it, we'll talk about it. We'll see what happens.”

There are two possible outcomes: Cora receives an extension, or he becomes a free agent following the 2024 season.

As Craig Counsell proved last month in landing a record-setting contract while going from the Brewers to the Cubs, being a free-agent manager isn’t always the worst thing.

In Breslow’s view, is having a manager go into a season in a “walk year” a good thing or a bad thing?

“To be honest, I think it could be any of those things. I can appreciate the question. Alex and I have had conversations,” Breslow told MLB.com. “We’ll continue to have conversations. He's preparing to manage a really successful ’24 season, and that's where my head is as well. And I'm sure we’ll kind of tackle all of the other questions as they come up.”

Though a front-office leader and a manager never truly know how they will coexist until they go through the rigors of a season, early returns have been encouraging.

“I'm thankful that we both recognize that right now … we’re in lockstep in terms of trying to figure out how we can piece together the best roster in ‘24 and beyond,” Breslow said. “I think there are certain things that we've started to look at internally, and how we can raise the level of accountability and the standards for our coaches and our players. And we’re obviously pursuing external additions.

“[Cora has] been a part of that process, and I value that. And we've had a lot of conversations about what type of information we can provide for him, how we make the best decisions in-game, getting a sense for what he values as a manager and the type of culture and kind of the vision that he has for a clubhouse. I think we need to view this as a partnership, and so far, we have.”

Cora is enjoying the process of learning more about pitching through the eyes of Breslow, who pitched in the Majors for 12 seasons.

“It's been good,” said Cora. “Just learning a lot. As you know, I think one of the things that we probably are going to do different is the pitching part of it, and that's an area that throughout my years I want to keep growing, keep learning, and just to be around him listening to his ideas now with [pitching coach] Andrew [Bailey]. The philosophy is going to be a little bit different, and the structure is going to be different, and I'm very eager to learn from them. It should be fun.”

The new pitching program will incorporate micro matters like game-planning and macro issues such as pitch usage and how to properly build up for a season.

All of it excites Cora, given how much Boston’s pitching staff struggled the past two seasons.

“I think everything [is important],” Cora said. “From philosophy to how we're going to attack guys, how we're going to recruit guys. The last 10 days, going through the process, showing the free agents what we are all about in the pitching department, showing a few things that are probably different than in the past, it’s been refreshing. It’s been fun. I know the feedback we've been getting, it’s been positive, and from my end I've been impressed with the new stuff that we are talking about.“