After a five-year stint in Boston that included a .533 winning percentage, three division titles and a World Series win, John Farrell was dismissed by the Red Sox Wednesday.
The search for a new manager—Boston’s fourth in the last eight years—will begin immediately. Nobody would describe managing the Red Sox as easy, but Boston’s core of young players and substantial payroll should still allow president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to choose from a large pool of interested candidates.
Without further delay, let’s take a speculative look at some of the candidates to replace Farrell…
Brad Ausmus
Ausmus, who caught at the MLB level for 18 years, will not return as manager of the Tigers after a four-year stint during which Detroit went 314-332. Worth noting: Dombrowski initially hired Ausmus with the Tigers.
Jason Varitek
Varitek spent his entire 15-year career with the Red Sox, and was an essential member of the 2004 and 2007 teams that won it all. He’s now a special assistant to Dombrowski, but he hasn’t managed at the MLB level.
Alex Cora
A veteran of 14 MLB seasons, Cora won a World Series with the 2007 Red Sox. Now 41, the former ESPN analyst is currently the bench coach of the Houston Astros, but has yet to manage at the MLB level.
Chili Davis
Davis spent the last three seasons as Boston’s hitting coach, working with the likes of Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. as they established themselves in the majors. He has yet to manage at the MLB level.
Dave Martinez
Like Cora, Martinez is viewed as a likely future manager. After a 16-year playing career, he became Joe Maddon’s bench coach in Tampa Bay and joined him in Chicago where the club won the 2016 World Series.
