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Alex Cora
Alex Cora would be the most controversial hire of this collection of candidates. Conversely, he would also likely be the best hire, Francona excluded. He has experienced some mighty highs with a World Series championship, but he also found himself in the dregs of the league for both personal and professional reasons.
Robert Murray, FanSided's MLB Insider, listed Alex Cora as a potential replacement for Oliver Marmol alongside another familiar face (our next candidate). Cora, 48, has ample experience managing. He is a "free agent" manager at the end of this year.
He was hired to manage the Boston Red Sox in 2018, and he immediately led them to a World Series Championship. While he was a major perpetrator in the Houston Astros cheating scandal of 2017, Cora has seemed to put that behind himself. He served his suspension in 2020, and the Red Sox brought him back immediately.
He has a .545 winning percentage with the Red Sox, and despite back-to-back losing seasons in 2022 and 2023, Cora has been able to make do with what he's been given. The 2018 Red Sox team was stacked, but recent iterations of the historical franchise have been less awe-inspiring. This year, the Red Sox are off to a strong start with an 18-13 record.
While Cora doesn't have any connections to the Cardinals from a player perspective, he has one tremendous factor playing to his benefit: Chaim Bloom. Bloom was brought on to be a special advisor to John Mozeliak this past offseason, and the odds of him replacing Mozeliak after the 2025 season are substantial. Bloom may want to start his tenure off with a manager he trusts and is familiar with. Cora fits the bill.