Cora hopeful for MLB return: I'd 'love to be back in 2021'
Former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora hopes to return to Major League Baseball, potentially for the 2021 season.
However, a lot is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of a concrete plan for the 2020 season.
"If this was a regular time and they were playing games, I would say yes," Cora told Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe. "I would love to be back in 2021 in some capacity. I love managing at the big-league level."
The 44-year-old is currently serving a suspension through the end of the 2020 campaign for his role in the Houston Astros' sign-stealing when he was the club's bench coach in 2017.
While he's interested in returning to MLB, Cora doesn't know if he'll be given the opportunity.
"I know it’s not going to be easy, as far as people giving me a chance," he said. "They are going to look back and then they are going to have to make up their minds. But at the end, I’m paying the price.
"I’m embarrassed. I’m sorry for what happened. And we have to move on."
Ron Roenicke is Boston's current manager, but his contract expires after 2020. He was the bench coach under Cora during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Previously, Cora had cast doubt on his future in baseball, hinting on Twitter in May about being done with managing. More recently, he said returning to a managerial role was the furthest thing from his mind because of the ongoing pandemic.
In two seasons with Cora at the helm, Boston won 192 games and claimed the 2018 World Series. He lost his job with the Red Sox in January.