Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has shown his worth yet again this season.
The Red Sox struggled to consistently perform during much of the first half, leading some fans to grow frustrated with Cora and point the finger at the 49-year-old manager.
Now that Boston has turned things around and sits atop the American League wild-card standings with a 74-60 record (entering Thursday), the narrative around Cora has returned to something resembling its usual state: Cora is in the top tier of MLB managers.
Cora’s performance in 2025 should be lauded for his capacity to deal with roster changes, most notably when Rafael Devers was shipped off to San Francisco. The Red Sox have come together as a team since that deal, and Cora surely deserves some credit for that transformation.
An interesting question for baseball fans to consider is this: is Cora a top-five manager in MLB?
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Some other names to consider for this tier are Milwaukee Brewers’ Pat Murphy, Cincinnati Reds’ Terry Francona, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, Chicago Cubs’ Craig Counsell, Detroit Tigers’ A.J. Hinch, Tampa Bay Rays’ Kevin Cash and Texas Rangers’ Bruce Bochy.
Ranking these names in specific order would ultimately be a tough task, akin to comparing apples and oranges.
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At the end of the day, if you’re mentioned among the best, you’ve done well in your profession. Cora should be proud about that, although a second World Series title on his manager resumé would make this discussion a lot juicier.
