The Cincinnati Reds reportedly have a new manager, and it looks like an early home run of a hire.
According to a report from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Reds are bringing Terry Francona out of retirement to manage the team, and an official announcement could come as early as Friday.
The 65-year-old Francona most recently managed the Cleveland Guardians before stepping away following the 2023 season.
Along with Cleveland, he also managed the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, winning World Series with the latter during the 2004 and 2007 seasons. He also led Cleveland to the 2016 World Series where it lost to the Chicago Cubs in seven games.
Francona will be replacing David Bell who was fired by the team less than two weeks ago.
While it may not be a cure-all for a team that finished the 2024 season in fourth place in the National League Central, Francona is one of the most respected managers in baseball and brings instant credibility to a franchise that badly needs it.
The Reds have just three winning seasons and only one playoff appearance over the past 11 years, and even that playoff appearance came during the shortened 2020 season with an expanded playoff. They were only two games over .500 (31-29) that season.
The Reds have one of the best young players in baseball in shortstop Elly De La Cruz, but need to do significantly more work around him to make the team competitive. Francona is a nice first step.
The good news is the National League Central is an extremely winnable division that is there for the taking with just a little bit of effort from ownership and management. Perhaps being willing to go out and get one of the top managers available is a sign that the Reds are serious about that.
