Five managerial candidates for the Red Sox

Chad Tracy

The Red Sox promoted Triple-A manager Tracy to the majors. That's only on an interim basis, though. Still, he will have some runway to effectively try out for the job full-time.

One thing Tracy has going for him is that many of Boston's young players spent time with him in the minor leagues. That includes Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer. So, he should have a connection point that Cora seemed to lack.

Brandon Hyde

Currently an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Rays, Hyde is best known for his time as the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, where he won Manager of the Year in 2023. He led them from 2019 through the first 43 games of 2025, making the playoffs twice but getting fired amid a 15-28 start to 2025.

One major strength for Hyde is that he worked with young talent in Baltimore. Boston has that same type of young talent. So, he has similar experience.

David Ross

If the Red Sox want someone with experience, they could turn to an old fan favorite in Ross. The former World Series winner in Boston managed the Chicago Cubs for four seasons. So, even though it was a frustrating run overall (262-284), he knows big markets.

With Ross, there is also a direct connection to Breslow. They were teammates together with the Red Sox in 2013 and 2014. Then, when Ross managed the Cubs, there was crossover to Breslow's front office tenure.

Mike Napoli

Much like Ross, Napoli won a World Series in 2013 with the Red Sox and is a former teammate of Breslow. Of course, the connection is stronger between a catcher like Ross and a pitcher like Breslow than that of a first baseman. On top of that, Napoli was an assistant coach under Ross and, therefore, crossed over with Breslow in Chicago too.

Now the assistant bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds, Napoli is seen as a rising assistant coach in the sport. Granted, he lacks managerial experience, but his connections to the team could become vital.

Andrew Bailey

The current pitching coach in Boston, Bailey survived the purging of the Red Sox coaching staff. There's a reason for that. He and Breslow are extremely close, going back to their days as players, and were brought in to implement Breslow's pitching plan in 2024.

All of that makes Bailey an obvious candidate to get promoted to be the team's next manager. Clearly, he and Breslow are on the same page. At the same time, Breslow may also like Bailey in his current role.