The Red Sox just acquired the face of their franchise. That’s a fact.
You can have an issue with Alex Cora’s past, suggest that ownership’s nudge-nudge, wink-wink was more like a push-push, or Chaim Bloom’s best path would have been starting completely fresh. That’s all your prerogative.
But understand that without the likes of Mookie Betts, Cora becomes the signature image and voice of the organization. So, what does it mean?
For starters, it’s at least a step forward for a franchise that has been moonwalking through 2020. How many steps forward? That’s the interesting part.
What has been lost in all the trash-can-banging debate is how Cora will shape this team now that he is that guy baseball players are identifying with this baseball team. Don’t think for a minute when Marcell Ozuna was working out with Eduardo Rodriguez Friday he wasn’t looking at living life as a Red Sox at least a little differently.
Yes, it allows us to comfortably utter names like Ozuna, or better yet Francisco Lindor. And isn’t that a nice change of pace?
Now, it’s a long shot that Lindor — the unbelievably talented Indians shortstop who is now reportedly on the market with his contract expires after the 2021 season — is a realistic possibility for these Red Sox. But at least we can have an intelligent conversation about such an acquisition. That’s in large part because of Cora.
The Red Sox have their Mookie Money, and now we wait to find out exactly where Bloom wants to spend it. It’s not a leap of faith to suggest that the Red Sox chief decision-maker isn’t the type who defaults to best free agent available. If he is going to allocate big-market money it’s going to be to a player who actually fits the foundation.
As Red Sox Stats pointed out Friday, Bloom is on record saying that spending big money on great players is a worthwhile exercise. Mookie Betts is a great player. (Lesson learned.) Lindor is also a great player.
Is it really worth allocating the highest-end prospects for Lindor in a contract year? Put it this way, without Cora you don’t even think about it. With the guy who served as the shortstop’s general manager for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, it’s a different story. (Sane if you want to replace Lindor’s name with Carlos Correa, who also played on that team and is headed for free agency after 2021.)
There is a reason when the experts project possible landing spots for Lindor Boston usually doesn’t make the cut. For starters, it has a shortstop in Xander Bogaerts, and the Indians star hasn’t played a single inning at another position other than short. In fact, it was Correa who moved to third base in the World Baseball Classic to accommodate Lindor.
But it’s OK to enter into scenarios that might necessitate some position-juggling. Lindor at second? Or maybe you put Bogaerts at third with Rafael Devers at first base?
And let’s not forget that Bogaerts can opt-out of his current contract after the 2022 season, so the Red Sox having some sort of superstar protection isn’t the worst idea.
Maybe we’re focusing on the wrong player. That’s fine. The point is that while we don’t know how many more wins Cora will immediately elicit from the Red Sox, we do know he will surface more interest from players looking for a place to play.
That was a dynamic that never changed. Ask around. Players wanted to play for Cora, with many of them spreading the good word.
Hiring a new manager isn’t going to immediately fix what ails this franchise. But hiring this new manager at least gets them closer to the Cool Kids’ table. That’s something. And right now, the Red Sox need something.
