Alex Cora Contract Extension

Sam Farmer - Contributing Writer (@samfarmer24)

After leading the Red Sox to a team record 109 wins and a World Series Championship in his rookie year as manager, Alex Cora is already being hailed as a legend within Boston. His personable managing style and ability to show trust in his players helped create a cohesive and downright dominant team this year.
Nancy Lane / Boston Herald

The Red Sox decided that Cora’s success is more than deserving of a contract extension and the two parties have come to an agreement on a contract extension that will commit to Cora for the 2021 season with a team option for 2022. This adds an additional year to the contract, although the salary is currently undisclosed. Despite being one of the best managers in baseball and leading his team to a WS, Cora was actually the lowest paid manager in the MLB this past year, only earning $800,000 in salary.

Cora finished second in AL Manager of the year voting behind Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin. Cora likely would have won easily if not for Melvin taking a team no one expected to compete to the playoffs. If he maintains the current pace, the Sox manager will hopefully be in contention for this award for years to come.

Alex Cora clearly deserved an extension with his performance last year. The Red Sox usually have the players to compete for a title, but having Cora at the helm gives Boston a true leader who can instill confidence in his players even in the toughest of times. It will be difficult for Cora to build on such an incredibly successful year, but it will be exciting to see how he progresses in his second year as manager.