One of the worst kept secrets in baseball is that the Philadelphia Phillies want Alex Cora as their manager. Apparently, Cora doesn't want it as badly as they do.
For the second time in a matter of months, Cora turned down the Phillies' offer to serve as manager, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Tuesday and multiple others, including the New York Post's Jon Heyman, confirmed. Heyman added that Cora plans to sit out next season to spend time with his family.
Without Cora as an option, the Phillies are looking for a full-time manager after firing Rob Thomson in the middle of the season. The team had not planned to retain interim manager Don Mattingly, but it appears that could change.
Cora was fired by the Boston Red Sox in April and replaced by Chad Tracy. With Tracy, the former Triple-A manager, at the helm, the Red Sox turned around their season with a July hot streak that helped them capture an American League Wild Card berth. They were swept by the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card round.
The Phillies followed a similar path after letting go of Thomson. Multiple reports indicated Cora was offered the job, but he declined. With Mattingly as skipper, the Phillies netted an AL Wild Card spot. But injuries and uneven play by key stars such as Trea Turner, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler led to them bowing out to the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card round.
Philadelphia has a star-studded roster highlighted by Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Cristopher Sanchez, but even with those big names, that job might not be as desirable as it appears. The Phillies' core is aging and might have missed its championship window; the team reached the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023, but has only won a single postseason game in each of its last three tries despite reaching the playoffs all three years.