Alex Cora Deserves 2nd Chance at MLB Manager Job, Says Red Sox President

Alex Cora is no longer the manager of the Boston Red Sox. In all likelihood, he may never hold that title again. That doesn't mean the team's president, Sam Kennedy, wants to see Cora permanently blacklisted from baseball after his connection to two sign-stealing schemes.

In fact, Kennedy was asked Wednesday if he believes Cora deserves another shot at managing.

"I do, that's my personal feeling," Kennedy said, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. "He does need to go through a rehabilitation process. What he did was wrong. He acknowledged that to us and apologized to us for that. But I'm a big believer in second chances. So we all wish him well."

Cora was suspended by MLB through the 2020 postseason for his role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal, while the Red Sox were docked a second-round draft pick this summer and had their video replay staffer, J.T. Watkins, suspended for a year as well.

Following Wednesday's decision and explanation from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, which noted the scope of Boston's sign-stealing was much smaller than Houston's, Cora released a statement in which he took responsibility for his actions.

"The collective conduct of the Astros' organization in 2017 was unacceptable," Cora's statement read. "I respect and accept the commissioner's discipline for my past actions. I would like to thank my family, friends and the Red Sox organization for their support throughout these investigations."

Ron Roenicke has since replaced Cora in Boston, seeing his interim tag officially lifted Wednesday.

New Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom reiterated that Cora was not fired because of his actions with the team, but because of what Manfred's report detailed about his time in Houston.

"At the time that we parted ways with Alex we were clear that that was a result of his role and what happened with the Astros and everything the investigation over there revealed," Bloom said. "It had nothing to do with what may or may not have occurred in Boston and that's still the case. All the reasons we parted ways then are still the case."

Bloom further defended Cora's character, noting he surveyed team employees who worked with him over the past few years and feels validated by the report's conclusions.

Despite that, Kennedy could not answer if he would rehire Cora after his suspension has been served. Instead, he noted the two agreed they "needed to part ways," and Wednesday's report did little to mitigate that decision.