Sources: Francona returning to manage Reds

Future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona will come out of retirement to manage the Cincinnati Reds, with the team announcing Friday that they have agreed to a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth season.

Francona’s return comes one year after he retired following his 23rd season as an MLB manager.

Francona, 65, takes over a young, talented Reds team a year after leaving the Cleveland Guardians, whom he had managed the previous 11 seasons. Francona won nearly 55% of his games with Cleveland after capturing two World Series while managing the Boston Red Sox, including the 2004 campaign that snapped an 86-year title drought.

Concerns about Francona’s health in recent years caused him to miss time and led to questions about whether he wanted to continue managing despite the success. When Francona stepped down from the Guardians on Oct. 3, 2023, he said: “I need to go home and get healthy and see what I miss about the game. I don’t foresee managing again.”

He now has pledged to return on the opposite side of the state with a team that underachieved this season. After a surprising 82-80 finish in 2023, the Reds weathered injuries to finish 77-85. They fired manager David Bell less than a year after giving him a contract extension and will hand the reins of a high-upside group to Francona.

Shortstop Elly De La Cruz, 22, is a star, and with Matt McLain expected back next season and a young position player group that includes Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson, Jonathan India, Noelvi Marte and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, there is plenty of potential for the Reds’ lineup. The same goes for a pitching staff headlined by Hunter Greene and complemented with Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and rookie Rhett Lowder.

With 1,950 wins in his career, including 285 in his first job with the Philadelphia Phillies more than a quarter century ago, Francona is likely to pass Leo Durocher for 12th on the all-time list for managers with his 2,009th win. If the Reds have the sort of season they hope Francona will help provide, he could surge past Walter Alston, who is 11th with 2,040 victories.

Francona, who was a major league outfielder for 10 seasons before injuries forced his retirement, played for the Reds in 1987.