Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona decided to step away from the team late in July to focus on several health issues. Fans learned that included hip replacement surgery, which took place last week.
Francona has a variety of noted health issues, so it was great news Sunday night when a report dropped saying the manager is now at home recovering from the procedure.
Great news on the Francona front
Any positive news is great to see when it comes to Francona. He entered the year nursing some lingering issues and it all got to be too much when he stepped down. Knowing he needed hip replacement surgery helps explain why stepping away was the best option.
Francona is recovering at home and doing this should mean he can take care of everything ailing him. He had a staph infection at the start of the year, was in a walking boot, and was just never at full strength from the start.
The timing of this all is interesting too because he was set to become the franchise leader in wins early in August. Yet if he does return in 2022, he will get credit for the victories while he was out. So he would show up as the record-holder as the manager of the Guardians.
#Indians president Chris Antonetti on @BullandFox on whether optimistic Terry Francona will be back: "I think the focus right now is just on him getting healthy."
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) August 3, 2021
Says they'll have chance in coming weeks, months to have that conversation. Knows he still has passion for the job.
At this point in time there is no way of knowing if he will actually return at all. He has a good six months to recover and could even take some extra time if he isn’t ready right at the start of spring training. It is all going to come down to how he is feeling and if he can tolerate the grueling schedule of being an MLB manager again.
But Francona does seem like the type of guy who doesn’t want to go out in this way. Even returning for a bit in 2022 would be a boost to the club given the transition taking place both in terms of the name and the talent on the roster.