Ron Roenicke Named Red Sox Interim Manager After Alex Cora's Firing

The Boston Red Sox announced they hired Ron Roenicke as their interim manager Tuesday.

Boston brought Roenicke aboard following the 2017 season to be Alex Cora's bench coach, so he was one of the most logical candidates to fill the team's vacancy.

The 63-year-old also spent four-plus seasons in charge of the Milwaukee Brewers, compiling a 342-331 record.

The Red Sox were left scrambling for a new manager in the wake of the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. Following an investigation, MLB confirmed the Astros used center field cameras and a replay room in 2017 to steal signs from opposing teams.

Cora, who served as Houston's bench coach during that season, was implicated in the scheme and received a one-year suspension from the league.

The Red Sox remain under MLB investigation after The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported they utilized a similar tactic in 2018, Cora's first season in the dugout.

The team announced Jan. 14 it had reached a mutual decision to part ways with Cora.

"Today we met to discuss the commissioner's report related to the Houston Astros investigation," ownership said in a statement. "Given the findings and the commissioner's ruling, we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward and we mutually agreed to part ways."

The development came as the Red Sox were already in flux.

They fired Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations in September and stated they were looking to trim payroll to get under the luxury tax for the 2020 season.

That immediately cast doubt on the long-term future of Mookie Betts—who later agreed to a record $27 million salary in his final year of arbitration—in Boston.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Feb. 4 the Red Sox agreed to a trade that sent Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston was slated to receive Alex Verdugo from the Dodgers and pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol from Minnesota in the three-team deal; however, Passan followed up to report the Sox "were spooked by a medical review of Graterol" and had reservations about the move.

The trade was retooled and finalized Monday, with Betts and Price heading to L.A. for Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong. Graterol moved to the Dodgers in a separate deal with the Twins. 

Trading Betts won't trigger a full-scale rebuild in Boston, but it further signaled the franchise's shifting short-term priorities.

MassLive.com's Matt Vautour questioned whether all the off-field drama—on top of the typical pressure that comes with managing the Red Sox—was turning away candidates from filling the vacancy:

"That's not the case in Boston. Despite saying nothing to back it up, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner has not only stated he expects the team to be better than last year, but at the Winter Weekend he mocked people who dared doubt that. President and CEO Sam Kennedy may have been just having Werner's back, but he stated something similar. That's a pipe dream.

"Maybe they're hoping their optimism translates into preseason ticket sales, but other than that, it's a bad approach for the season that lies ahead and puts whomever they hire into an awfully tough spot with almost no time to prepare."

While Roenicke isn't taking over with the intention of leaving after a year, it's fair to wonder whether the Red Sox will display a quick trigger. The timing of Cora's departure naturally limited the pool of possible managers, so it would make sense to at least leave the option of a full search on the table following the 2020 campaign.

Perhaps Boston could make a surprise playoff run under Roenicke to eliminate any doubt as to his suitability in the role. The team was a World Series champion when Cora, John Farrell and Terry Francona were all in their first year on the job.

In general, jettisoning Cora provided ownership with another out to hit the reset button. With the New York Yankees the early favorites to win the American League East, the Sox might be content to retool and focus on 2021 and beyond.