It has been nearly seven months since the Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and six members of his coaching staff. In the days after his firing, Cora rejected an offer from former Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski to join him in Philadelphia as Phillies manager, citing his desire to spend the summer with his young children and fiancé.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Dombrowski again approached Cora about becoming manager in 2027 after another disappointing finish to the season which saw Philadelphia lose in three games to the Atlanta Braves in the wild card round. Once again, Cora rejected the offer, saying he plans to sit out the 2027 season. 

While the decision to take another year off in 2027 seems like a curious one on the surface, there are a number of reasons why Cora is correct to spurn Dombrowski for the second time: 

After firing him in the second year of the three-year extension signed in July 2024, Boston will owe Cora $7.25 million in 2027. The guaranteed check from Boston certainly made it easier for Cora to take the season off. 

The 2027 season is covered in a cloud of uncertainty as we inch closer and closer to a lockout beginning on Dec. 2. By the time the labor situation is resolved, the financial landscape of the league could be completely different than the one we have in 2026, especially if the owners get the salary cap they’ve long desired. 

Waiting out the lockout allows Cora to get a clearer picture of the future of the franchise he will eventually join. 

Right now, only two managerial jobs are open across baseball: the Seattle Mariners, who fired Dan Wilson, and Philadelphia. The Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros could open up still, but each of those jobs has its flaws.

In Seattle, the Mariners are among the lowest-paying teams in the sport, so they likely wouldn’t be willing to spend the money needed to land Cora, who was making top-of-market money in Boston.

As we learned in 2026, Cora isn't a developmental manager and is better suited to be the piece that pushes a team close to contention over the top. That rules out Los Angeles, which finished the season with the worst record in the American League. 

Then there’s Houston, which backed into the postseason by winning an incredibly weak American League West, then got swept by the Chicago White Sox in the wild card round. 

Philadelphia, which Cora turned down, has a big-spending owner; however, the team hasn’t been able to get over the hump in each of the last five seasons. After once again falling short in 2026, uncertainty surrounds the team, and Dombrowski might not be long for the job if they fall short again. If the team does choose to hire a new head of baseball operations in the near future, they will likely want to pick their own manager, moving on from Cora. 

Even after taking nearly two full seasons off, Cora will likely be one of the most sought-after names in the 2028 managerial market, one who’s able to choose his exact destination. By waiting an extra year, Cora can bypass the uncertainty of the lockout and potentially have a much better crop of teams to choose from, all while still collecting a paycheck from his former employer to spend the summer on the beaches of Puerto Rico with his family.