Terry Francona officially announced on Tuesday afternoon that he was stepping down as the Cleveland Guardians manager. This was long-awaited and expected news but now it's official.
Tito has been hinting for the last month and a half that 2023 could be his last season managing which has given fans plenty of time to speculate who could take over for the future Hall Of Famer.
One name who was on everyone's list was Sandy Alomar Jr . However, we now know that won't be happening.
President Of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said that Alomar declined to interview for the job, but still wants to stay with the organization in his current role.
It would've made sense for Alomar to follow Francona as Cleveland's head skipper. He's been with the organization dating all the way back to when he was a player on the great 90s teams and sporadically through the early 2000s. Alomar has also been on the staff since 2010 primarily as a first-base coach.
Alomar also has some experience as a Big League manager. He managed six games for Cleveland in 2012 after the firing of Manny Acta and even was interim manager in 2020 while Tito dealt with other health issues.
At the end of the day, this just wasn't the position he wanted to be in.
You can't blame Alomar for removing his name for consideration. He's in a spot where he feels comfortable and is clearly enjoying his time with the team. Perhaps the day will come when the Cleveland legend feels ready to be a skipper but right now isn't the time for it.
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