The Cincinnati Reds have hired former Cleveland Guardians skipper Terry Francona to replace the fired David Bell, sources are telling ESPN on Thursday night.
Francona will come out of retirement one year after stepping away from Cleveland, Jeff Passan reported via X (the former Twitter):
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News Center 7 has been following developments concerning the team and will continue to provide updates for this report.
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The Reds announced the firing of manager David Bell on Sept. 22, after six seasons.
The Cincinnati Reds are hiring Terry Francona as their manager, sources tell ESPN. He will come out of retirement one year after stepping away from Cleveland and will take over a young, talented Reds team. @Feinsand was first on the news.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 4, 2024
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand was the first to report the move.
The ball club had not confirmed the news as of late Thursday night.
Francona, 65, returns to the game having managed three teams during his 23-year career. He has a 1,950-1,672 record with the Phillies (1997-2000), Red Sox (2004-2011) and Guardians (2013-2023), according to MLB.com.
He led the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.
Francona played for the Reds in 1987 during his 10-year career as a player. His hiring comes 11 days after the Reds fired David Bell, who was hired in October 2018.
Bell posted a 409-456 record over six seasons, including a 76-81 mark this year. The Reds earned a trip to the postseason in 2020, which was shortened to 60 games because of COVID.
Bell was under contract until 2026.
Bench coach Freddie Benavides was named interim manager for the last five games of the 2024 season.
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