Hot Stove Lunch: Red Sox unlikely to turn to veteran manager

In some ways, choosing a older, more experienced manager could be the answer for the 2020 Red Sox.

Reeling from the revelations that came from the investigation of the Houston Astros and under investigation themselves for sign-stealing in 2018, the Red Sox have a vacancy in the dugout, having "mutually agreed to part ways'' with Alex Cora, the Red Sox have to act fast.

Spring training is less than a month away and new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is undertaking a managerial search he didn't expect to make.

At a time like this -- in need of leadership, hip-deep in scandal -- the Red Sox could use a steady hand, someone who has dealt with adversity, someone accustomed to the challenges that come with managing in the big leagues.

There are plenty of options out there: Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter and Mike Scioscia are out there. A few have expressed an interest in returning to managing at the big league level.

None would need their hand held. There's little they haven't already seen. They could bring stability, know-how and gravitas to the job. Each would command immediate respect in the Red Sox clubhouse.

But don't your breath.

While any of the candidates mentioned would be strong choices for the short-term and help the Sox weather the recent turbulence, Bloom is not interested in winning the press conference or immediate PR moves.

Instead, he's thinking long-term. The Red Sox are soon to be -- if they're not already -- in transition, with some older players aging our and others bound for free agency. Bloom wishes to put his stamp on the franchise, to have the Red Sox reflect his philosophy. After all, that's why  he was hired.

Bloom will want someone he can partner with over the next five or six years to build the organization. Sure, Baker, Bochy, Showalter or Scioscia -- and others -- could infuse the Sox with respectability and maybe even, if things go right, manage them into playoff contention immediately.

But Bloom didn't get hired to worry about short-term fixes. He's looking at the long game, and he'll need a younger, more analytically-inclined manager who will help implement a bigger plan, one that is capable of delivering sustainability.

It's not Bloom's job to fix what got broken before he arrived. It's his task to set the foundation for building the Sox as he sees fit.

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