Alex Cora is apparently not lining up a return to the dugout anytime soon, and that matters for the Phillies as they sort through their managerial future.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Cora told Philadelphia president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski that he plans to sit out the 2027 season. That takes one of the more obvious speculative names out of the mix for a job the Phillies still haven’t settled.
Cora’s situation is unusual because he doesn’t need to rush back. He had been under contract with the Red Sox at a reported $7.25MM salary through the 2027 season, and Boston fired him in April while still owing him that money. If he were to manage another club next year, whatever he earned there would be deducted from what the Red Sox still owe.
Dombrowski, who previously worked with Cora in Boston, made it clear in April that he would have been ready to offer Cora the Phillies job as soon as the Red Sox let him go. Cora passed then, saying he wanted more time with family in his native Puerto Rico. Philadelphia responded by moving on from Rob Thomson and putting Don Mattingly in place on an interim basis for the rest of 2026.
Mattingly had signed a two-year deal with the Phillies as bench coach and remains under contract through next year, but the organization still has not locked in its long-term managerial plan. His first stretch in charge came with a big regular-season rebound that pushed Philadelphia to its fifth straight playoff berth.
The postseason ended fast, though, with a three-game Wild Card Series loss to Atlanta. That made it three straight years the Phillies have been knocked out in their first series, with the previous two exits coming in the NLDS after they had first-round byes.
Boston’s own managerial shakeup produced a similar kind of turnaround, and the Red Sox also reached the Wild Card round. The difference is that Boston quickly removed the interim label from its manager, Chad Tracy, giving him a three-year extension in September. Even so, the Red Sox were also eliminated in the Wild Card Series.
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