Last night, Boston Red Sox owner Jim Hendry released the news that his club is set to begin their managerial search for Terry Francona’s replacement. Hendry, through a series of tweets, indicated that the Red Sox are hoping to start meeting with candidates as soon as next week.
Following Friday’s official announcement of Francona’s dismissal and ongoing rumors surrounding Theo Epstein’s future in Boston, the Red Sox entered the week with many questions regarding their organization.
Through all of this, Hendry was seemingly nowhere to be found. The owner was unable to make Francona’s final new conference Friday because of a boating accident he was involved in.
Hendry finally emerged last night, notifying his Twitter followers that he was indeed “fine”. The Red Sox owner went on to say that he was “excited” to start the search for Francona’s replacement, and that he is hoping to begin “calls and maybe interviews next week”.
There are already reports indicating who the Red Sox are eying for their managerial opening. Current bench coaches for the Rays and Phillies, Pete Mackanin and Dave Martinez, are known to be on the Red Sox radar. For what it’s worth, Mackanin has confirmed that he would be interested in the position.
Sandy Alomar Jr., Ron Wotus, Joey Cora and Ryne Sandberg have also had their names tied to the Red Sox.
While this certainly would appear to be a step in the right direction for Boston, the Red Sox have still not released a firm statement regarding Epstein’s future with the club. The Chicago Cubs have reached out to the Red Sox, requesting permission to speak with Epstein about their general manager opening, a move that has continued the Epstein-to-Chicago rumors.
One would assume that Boston would want to clear up its GM position before it goes about finding a replacement for Francona.
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