Boston Red Sox: Six potential new managers to replace John Farrell

With an ALDS loss, again, Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell was fired on Wednesday. Here are 6 guys that could replace him.

The Boston Red Sox have made the right call firing manager John Farrell on Wednesday. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski, who inherited Farrell when he came here, made the announcement.

Yes, Farrell took the Red Sox to the postseason a bunch and became the first manager to lead them to back-to-back division titles, but that’s not enough in Boston. The Red Sox should be winning World Series titles. The team is too talented to have bowed out in the ALDS once again.

Here are 6 potential options for Dave Dombrowski to replace manager John. And no, Jason Varitek is not one of them.

Alex Cora

Alex Cora, a former player for the Boston Red Sox, could be looking for his first opportunity as a manager. He is in his first season as the bench coach for the Houston Astros, and his name has already come up a ton when looking at potential managerial openings. Cora was an extremely smart player, and he is certainly a smart coach. He’s been taking the time to develop as a coach, and now it may be time to give the former Red Sox World Series champion a shot.

Chili Davis

Chili Davis has been the Boston Red Sox hitting coach since 2014, and he’s been filling that role for various teams since 2010. The first Jamaican-born player to appear in a major league game could be the next manager of the Red Sox.

With a lack of diversity among MLB managers, this would be a great move to give a guy an opportunity that he’s clearly earned. Sure, people will point to the 2017 Red Sox lack of power and home runs, since he is the hitting coach, but that isn’t all on him. Davis still set the players up for success, and I believe he could do the same with an entire squad. He knows how to win, having won three World Series titles as a player, so this could be a fit.

If the Red Sox want to remain internal and hire someone from within the organization, their options are limited and Chili Davis will become a favorite. He’ll be pitted against my next option, bench coach Gary DiSarcina.

Gary DiSarcina

The Red Sox have had Gary DiSarcina on the team for just one season, but he knows how to coach and manage a team.

After a solid career as a shortstop for the California Angels, DiSarcina got right into coaching. From 2007 to 2009 he was the manager for the Lowell Spinners, Boston’s Short Season-A affiliate. In 2010 he became the Red Sox minor league infield instruction coordinator. Then, DiSarcina returned to the Angels as the assistant to their general managers. In 2013 though, he got the opportunity to manage the Pawtucket Red Sox. In his first season, he led the team to a division title and to the finals of the Governor’s Cup championship.

In 2014, DiSarcina was called to the majors once again and he served as a third base coach and first base coach for the Angels for three full seasons. That’s when Boston poached him to be their bench coach for the 2017 season.

A Billerica, Massachusetts native and UMass alum, Gary DiSarcina knows Boston and he knows that the fans will now tolerate nothing less than a World Series title. Right now, he must be a front-runner for the position.

Ron Gardenhire

Ron Gardenhire has been around baseball for a long time. He was a player for a brief time in the 1980’s with the New York Mets, and then he immediately got into coaching. From 1988 to 1990 Gardenhire managed the Minnesota Class-A affiliate before moving up into the majors. Gardenhire was the Twins manager from 2002 through 2014.

With the Twins, Gardenhire was named the 2010 Manager of the Year. He was also the runner-up for the award five more times. He took Minnesota to the playoffs six times but never made it to the World Series. He’s the only manager in history to ever do that.

Overall, Gardenhire was 1,068-1,039 (.507) in the regular season as the Minnesota Twins manager. He was just 6-21 in the postseason though.

In 2017, Gardenhire was hired as the Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach but had to leave the team after just 7 games to recover from prostate cancer surgery.

Right now, I don’t think Gardenhire is a fit for the Boston Red Sox, but it’s well known that Dave Dombrowski loves this guy.

Tony Pena

I agree here, Tony Pena should get a chance to manage. If the New York Yankees move on from manager Joe Girardi, Pena will certainly be the favorite there. It would be interesting to see if the Red Sox could somehow poach him.

Pena actually played in Boston from 1990 to 1993. He won the 1990 Gold Glove award after leading all American League catchers in games played, putouts, and range factor. Pena helped to lead the Red Sox to the ALCS, but they lost to the Oakland Athletics.

A 5-time All-Star catcher, Tony Pena has what it takes to be a successful manager. From 2002 to 2005 Pena got his shot to be a manager with the Kansas City Royals. He delivered the teams first winning season since 1994 in 2003, earning the AL Manager of the Year award. After a terrible 2004 season and a rough start to 2005, Pena resigned as the Royals manager on May 10, 2005.  That November he was named the New York Yankees first base coach.

In 2007, Pena interviewed to become the Yankees next manager when Joe Torre left, but the club went with Joe Girardi instead. Pena chose to remain on the team though. From 2009 to 2014 he was New York’s bench coach, but he’s since shifted back onto the base paths as a first base coach.

In 2013, Pena was named the manager for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The team went 8-0, with a victory over Puerto Rico in the championship. Pena led the first ever undefeated team in WBC history.

In 2011, some thought Pena would be a great fit to replace Terry Francona in Boston. He never interviewed and the job instead went to Bobby Valentine. When Bobby V was fired after just one season though, Pena did interview before the job went to John Farrell.

Tony Pena’s name should certainly be thrown into the ring here in Boston once again, and this time he may actually land the job.

Don Wakamatsu

Don Wakamatsu is out as the Kansas City Royals bench coach, a role he has served in for the last 4 years. He began his coaching career in 1997 in the Arizona League as a manager. He stayed in the minor leagues until 2003 when the Texas Rangers hired him as their bench. He remained in that role through 2006, and in 2007 he was the third base coach.

Wakamatsu spent one season with the A’s, as their bench coach in 2008. Then, he got a managerial job for the Seattle Mariners. He was fired in August of the 2010 season though, so he never really got a chance to show what he has to offer. Wakamatsu was 127-147 with the Mariners, but he’s a lot more capable than that.

Next: Red Sox fire John Farrell

So, who do you think the Boston Red Sox will interview for the manager job? Who do you think they’ll end up hiring, This is a story we will follow as we head towards the winter and the true offseason. A manager should be hired quickly though so that the team is set and ready for free agency and some offseason changes.

My pick right now: Gary DiSarcina