Poll: Does Alex Cora have too much power with Red Sox?
Things have been a bit strange in Boston since Chaim Bloom got canned last month. In an odd twist not often seen in baseball, or really sports in general, Sam Kennedy said at the season-ending press conference that manager Alex Cora would have a say in hiring his new boss.
Seem weird? Yeah, that's because it is. This also apparently came after Cora intimated to the organization that, while he's interested in a move upstairs at some point, he's not ready to make the jump yet.
Cora has been empowered above everyone else in the organization (save for John Henry and Tom Werner). He's beloved by ownership and the team. That was pretty evident when the teary eyed owners sat at the podium explaining why their hands were tied and they were forced to fire him following the cheating allegations in early 2020, then the point was hammered home when Bloom was not-so-subtly encouraged to bring Cora back into the building 11 months later.
Now, we're beginning to hear that Cora's empowerment within the organization is turning off potential candidates to fill the vacant GM role.
According to Sean McAdam, the Red Sox are being rejected by multiple candidates to take over their GM position, with the main area of concern being that the new GM wants to bring his own people in and not inherit Cora and other Sox front office members.
Reports indicate the Sox will be unlikely to lure a top executive because someone at that level doesn’t want to have to answer to the manager, with Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com saying multiple people atop the Red Sox’ list of candidates have declined interviews or taken themselves out of the running informally according to industry sources.
When Kennedy met with reporters at the season's end, he said emphatically that Boston is a place where anyone in the sport wants to be. Well, apparently the organization had yet to take the temperature of the room.
Is Cora's power a hindrance to the current needs or the organization, or has he earned the right to be the top dog?