It is official. The Cincinnati Reds are hiring Terry Francona as their new manager.
While the news first broke late Thursday night, the Reds officially announced the decision on Friday morning, and confirmed the length of Francona's contract.
Francona is signing a three-year contract through the end of the 2027 season with a club option for the 2028 season, per the Reds' announcement.
The Reds moved quickly to fill their managerial vacancy after firing David Bell just before the end of the regular season. Now, before the Division Series has even started, the Reds will be able to approach their offseason and free agency with their manager already set in place.
There were questions about whether or not the 65-year-old Francona would want to be considered for any of the open manager positions after stepping down from the Cleveland Guardians last season due to health concerns. Because of Francona's age, it makes sense the the Reds kept the contract more short-term.
A sure-fire future Hall of Famer, Francona is one of the most well-respected figures in all of baseball. He managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000, the Boston Red Sox from 2004-2011 and the Guardians from 2013-2023. Francona won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, brought the Guardians to the World Series in 2016 and won manager of the year in 2013, 2016 and 2020.
Why the Cincinnati Reds hired Terry Francona
After showing some signs of improvement in 2023, the Reds failed to take the next step to become legitimate postseason contenders in 2024. While injuries to infielder Matt McLain and outfielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand certainly did not help, it was clear that the Reds could have done much better than a 77-85 fourth-place finish.
Even though 2024 was disappointing, the future is very bright for the Reds. 22-year-old shortstop Elly De La Cruz is already one of the best players in baseball in just his second season, leading all of baseball with 67 stolen bases and hitting 25 home runs. 24-year-old Hunter Greene dominated on the mound, pitching to a 9-5 record with a 2.75 ERA through 26 starts.
Francona will have his work cut out for him as he takes over a promising young Reds squad led by De La Cruz and Greene. If the Reds plan on competing in 2025 instead of going into more of a rebuild, Francona's first priority will likely be to upgrade his closer and add more depth to the starting rotation outside of Greene and Andrew Abbott.