While much of the baseball world was up in awe of New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso’s game-winning home run against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday night, the manager carousel began to turn.
Two-time World Series-winning manager Terry Francona agreed to terms on a three-year contract to become the Cincinnati Reds’ 64th manager in team history. Francona also boasts three Manager of the Year awards.
Francona, who has 23 years of managerial experience, stepped down following 11 seasons with the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland became a perennial postseason contender with Francona leading the charge. The team finished with 10 winning seasons during his tenure — highlighted by Cleveland’s World Series appearance in 2016, their first World Series appearance since 1997.
Francona stepped down after the 2023 season due to health reasons.
Francona experienced plenty of success before his time in the midwest. He managed the Boston Red Sox to eight consecutive winning records and two World Series victories from 2004-11.
He is familiar with baseball in Cincinnati. Francona played 10 seasons in MLB, including a one-year stint with the Reds. He totaled eight extra-base hits and 12 RBI in 102 games during the 1987 season.
Additionally, Francona gets to take over a young and talented Reds team that had postseason hopes when the 2024 campaign began. The team underperformed, and six-year Reds manager David Bell was fired with five games remaining in the regular season.
Cincinnati completed the 2024 season fourth in the National League Central with a 77-85 record. Still, there’s hope the team can turn it around. Starting pitcher Hunter Greene put together an All-Star campaign in his third year in the big leagues. He led the Reds with 6.3 bWAR and a 2.75 ERA over 150.1 innings of work.
The baseball world was dazzled by a full season of shortstop Elly De La Cruz. De La Cruz ran tenaciously around the diamond, stealing a league-leading 67 bases in the 2024 season. He also led all Reds with 160 games played.
Pitcher Nick Martinez did everything well for the Reds. He threw a combined 142.1 innings, splitting time as a starting pitcher and a bullpen arm. Additionally, bats like Tyler Stephenson and Jonathan India produced solid years.
The Reds did all of this without one of their more valuable bats, Matt McLain. McLain missed the entire 2024 campaign after he underwent surgery on his left shoulder during spring training. He hit nearly .300 and torched 16 home runs during his rookie season in 2023. McLain will be experiencing his first baseball action in the 2024 Arizona Fall League, where he’ll play with the Glendale Desert Dogs.
While the 2024 season went poorly for Cincinnati, an experienced manager could help lead them to their first full-season playoff appearance since 2013.
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