Bloom: Red Sox not rushing to hire new manager
The Boston Red Sox may not have a new manager before pitchers and catchers report Feb. 12.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Thursday the club isn't rushing to find a replacement for Alex Cora, who parted ways with the team following Major League Baseball's investigation into the Houston Astros' sign-stealing.
"It would certainly be ideal," Bloom said when asked about having a skipper by Feb. 12, according to Jimmy Golen of The Associated Press. "Nobody wants to be at this point in a year without a manager, obviously, so that would become even more important once we get to spring training."
Bloom wouldn't reveal any details about the team's search.
"It's best for everybody if it just stays private until we have something to share," he said. "Obviously speed is important, because of the unusual timing of this, but we just want to make sure we're not going faster than we should, in order to get the best outcome in this process."
Cora hasn't yet been disciplined by the league but is expected to be. Astros skipper AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were given one-year bans before subsequently being fired, and Carlos Beltran stepped down before managing a single game for the New York Mets.
Luis Rojas already replaced Beltran and the Astros reportedly conducted interviews with various high-profile candidates, including Dusty Baker.
The Red Sox and Cora also remain under investigation for separate sign-stealing allegations from the 2018 season.