Now that the World Series is wrapped up and the city of Los Angeles is celebrating its second championship in 16 days thanks to the Lakers and Dodgers, MLB teams are beginning to see managerial shifts.
The Boston Red Sox, a team in desperate need of a boost, are at the top of the rumor mill regarding who will take over as manager. Shortly before its final game, the team informed Ron Roenicke, interim manager for the 2020 season, that hewould not return for the 2021 season, a contentious move following Roenicke’s third season with the team.
While Roenicke's stint as manager yielded an unfortunate 24–36 record for the Sox, he previously served as former manager Alex Cora’s dependable bench coach during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Due to his history with the team, some fans thought he deserved another chance next season, especially considering players’ lack of internal motivation due to COVID-19 setbacks, and certainly more respect than being fired right before the Red Sox's final game.
Regarding Alex Cora, it did not take long forspeculation of his returnto begin following the conclusion of the 2020 regular season. While he was suspended from MLB for one year due to his involvement with the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, his restriction ended right after the 2020 World Series.
In May, Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom claimed that rehiring Cora was “not on [the team's] radar." Following the conclusion of the season, Bloom said he did not want to discuss Cora out of respect to Roenicke, and asserted thathe had not spoken to Cora at the time and did not want to make any statements without talking to him first. He also indicated that removing Roenicke allowed the team to move forward, but he hadnot made any concrete decisions about future managers yet.
Fans may wonder why the Red Sox wouldn’t revert immediately back to Cora — the man that led the team to a World Series championship in 2018 and brought out the best in third baseman Rafael Devers. Bloom, who only recently joined the Red Sox from the Tampa Bay Rays in October 2019, may be keen on hiring his own manager and getting a desperately needed fresh start for the team.
Another potential candidate isSam Fuld, a former outfielder that has a personal connection to Chaim Bloom due to his stint with the Rays from 2011–13. Other finalists for the Red Sox manager position includeDon Kelly and Carlos Mendoza who are bench coaches for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees, respectively.
Former Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhireretired before the season ended on Sept. 20, citing health issues and concerns about potential exposure to COVID-19 as a cancer survivor. Although Gardenhire's record with the Tigers was 132–241, he was beloved by the team and many of the players expressed sadness about his departure.
The Tigers’ search for a new manager began internally, asbench coach Lloyd McClendon was considered early because of his familiarity with the team and respect from players. However, they branched out externally, perhaps hoping to bring a breath of fresh air to the organization, and also interviewed George Lombard, first base coach for the Dodgers, and Marcus Thames, hitting coach for the Yankees.
Finally the Tigers chose A.J. Hinch, former manager of the Astros.Hinchserved a year-long suspension from MLB for his role in the Astros’ 2017 World Series cheating scandal. The scandal was exposed by former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, who exposed illegal camera usage and banging on trash cans to steal signs from opposing teams.
While Hinch was punished by MLB for his inaction in the cheating, it did not take long for the Tigers to contact him once his suspension was up. In fact,30 minutes after the Dodgers secured their World Series win, the Tigers’ general manager Al Avila called Hinch and put him on a plane to do interviews with the team the next day.
Hinch hasexpressed remorse about the Astros’ cheating scandal and shared his intent to speak to Tigers players individually about how the cheating may have impacted them. The team is enthusiastic about Hinch’s addition to the team, withpitcher Matthew Boyd expressing excitement about the new manager’s plans and the future for the Tigers.
The Chicago White Sox and former manager Rick Renteria mutually chose to part ways following their loss to the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card round of the 2020 postseason. His removal is a surprise to many, considering the White Sox's solid record of35–25 this season, their first appearance in the postseason since 2008, and Renteria’s nomination for American League Manager of the Year.
While general manager Rick Hahn spoke highly of Renteria’s performance, the White Sox have been undergoing a rebuild for many years, and the front office sawRenteria’s removal as another step in that process.White Sox fans were also critical of his bullpen management toward the end of the 2020 season, and their postseason exit in the Wild Card round.
Alex Cora and A.J. Hinch were also speculated to be potential choices for the Chicago team, but the White Sox finally picked Tony La Russa, a move that left many fans scratching their heads.
While La Russa previously managed the White Sox from 1979–86 and has had a decorated career, includingthree World Series titles and six pennants, people pointed to his older age and absence from managing the past six years as reasons against him.
However, La Russa’s unrelenting involvement in the baseball world across many teams, excitement to get to know the players and his plan to use analytics to bolster rather than overpowerhis managerial prowess puts him in a good position for the job. The combination of La Russa’s veteran knowledge and a young, star-powered team will be sure to provide a fascinating season for the White Sox in 2021.
As the offseason has only been underway for a few weeks, more teams are likely to make changes to their coaching staffs in addition to movements within rosters. While plans for the 2021 season remain unclear due to COVID-19 concerns, whenever it begins, many organizations will have fresh faces and perspectives to create new potential paths to victory.
