Longtime ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian supplied a significant on Thursday morning regarding the future of former manager Terry Francona.
“Tito” announced in early October that he was stepping down as manager of the Cleveland Guardians at age 64 after 11 seasons with the club. Francona led Cleveland to six playoff appearances during his tenure, including an AL pennant in 2016, and he also won three AL Manager of the Year Awards.
The now-65-year-old’s first stint at the helm was with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997 to 2000.
Francona then managed the Boston Red Sox for
eight years from 2004-11, guiding the team to a pair of World Series
titles. The franchise broke the “Curse of
the Bambino” during Francona’s first season in Boston, earning their first championship in 86 years.
He battled numerous health issues in his later seasons with the Guardians, leading to his decision at the end of the 2023 season.
Cleveland hired former two-time All-Star catcher Stephen Vogt as Francona’s successor on Nov. 6. Vogt served one season as the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen and quality control coach following his 10-year playing career.
If Kurkjian’s
report of Francona’s one-and-a-half-year timeline comes to fruition, fans could
see Tito back in an MLB dugout by the 2026 season.