Alex Cora gives ominous quote about future managing the Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

“It’s getting harder and harder. To have a chance to win, that’s all I want.”

By Conor Roche

November 21, 2025 | 4:31 PM

2 minutes to read

Alex Cora has said on multiple occasions that he doesn’t intend to be a baseball manager forever, but could his time as the Red Sox’ skipper come sooner than we realize?

In an interview with the “Section 10” podcast, Cora made an interesting remark about his managing future when he was asked about how his relationship with Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has strengthened.

“I just believe as an organization we’ve turned the page. As you guys know, and I’ve been totally vocal about it, I’m not going to be Tony La Russa. I’m not going to be Tito Francona,” Cora said. “I’m going to manage until I feel or these people down here tell me that’s it.”

“The boys are 8,” Cora added, referring to his twin sons. “They’re enjoying the whole thing, but it’s getting harder and harder. To have a chance to win, that’s all I want.”

When the Red Sox faced the Reds and welcomed Francona back to Fenway in June, Cora told reporters that there was no chance he would manage for as long as his former skipper.

“Somebody asked me today about that. You think you’ll do it 28 years? Nah. Nah. Nah. It’s a lot, especially now it’s different,” Cora said in June. “There’s a lot of stuff that comes into play and the coverage of teams, it’s a lot. It’s a lot. You cannot detach yourself from the job to be honest with you. That’s the hard part, especially in markets like this. It’s relentless. That’s the reality of it.”

But Cora’s thoughts on retiring as a manager sooner than some might expect predate his comments from June. In 2021, Cora mentioned the possibility of stepping aside for Dustin Pedroia to become the manager of the Red Sox sometime down the road.

Cora has noticeably put his family at the forefront more recently as well. He missed a game this past season in order to attend his daughter’s graduation from Boston College. He also recently shared that he got engaged.

Cora’s most recent comment about his managing future comes as the Red Sox had their best season in four years. They reached the playoffs in 2025, but were eliminated by the Yankees in the Wild Card Round.

The three seasons between postseason appearances for the Red Sox brought some interesting times for Cora, working under Chaim Bloom before Breslow was hired in 2024. As there were rumors of friction between Cora and the Red Sox’ front office over that stretch, the Red Sox manager said that he’s got a good working relationship with Breslow.

“I think Bres has given me that opportunity to be part of the equation, just like Dave [Dombrowski] did and Chaim,” Cora said. “In the situation with Chaim, [we made the playoffs] in ’21, but everything changed as an organization.

“Now we’re in a spot that’s go time. We talked about it last year. We had a taste this year. But now we’re going to play for what we want. It’s that ring. There’s nothing else.”

Cora, who turned 50 in October, is set to enter his eighth season as Red Sox manager in 2026. He helped them win a World Series in his first year in that role in 2018, but he and the team parted ways in 2020 over his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. He rejoined the team as manager for the 2021 season.

Cora has two seasons remaining on a three-year extension he signed in the middle of the 2024 season.