Red Sox Name Roenicke Interim Manager

Major League Baseball’s overly lengthy investigation into the 2018 Red Sox has significantly affected Boston’s search for a new manager. The arrival of pitchers and catchers this week meant the Red Sox no longer have the luxury of waiting for the investigation to end. They needed to name a manager but the league’s investigation on the team not being completed puts the Red Sox into a hole. At the end of the day, a ball club needs a manager for spring training which lead Chaim Bloom to promote Ron Roenicke from bench coach to interim manager. Why the interim label?

In a press conference on Tuesday Chaim Bloom stated “we’ll address permanency after the investigation is complete.” Rob Manfred has said he hopes to complete the investigation at the start of Spring Training and I assume the interim label will be lifted immediately following the investigation.

Ron Roenicke, 63, has been a coach in professional baseball since 1992 including  managing the Milwaukee Brewers from 2011 until 2015 with 342 wins and 331 losses including a division title. Alex Cora hired Roniecke, his former AA Manager, as the Red Sox bench coach to mentor the former Red Sox Manager. Beyond his experience Roenicke was hired because this late in the off-season hiring an external candidate would not have made any sense. Roenicke knows the players and culture and can easily transition into the manager role. He gets the most out of his players, they all like him and he is the most logical choice to manage the team in 2020.

Beyond the 2020 season, the Red Sox manager position is a question mark. Does Alex Cora return if Rob Manfred only suspends him for one year? Is Roenicke the man for the job moving forward? Only time will tell. It is worth noting three of the last four Red Sox first year managers have gone on to win the World Series. We all hope Roenicke will have the same fortune his predecessors had.