Red Sox Manager Could Break Cubs' Historic Managerial Deal

The Chicago Cubs shocked the baseball world when they signed Craig Counsell to a historic managerial contract. Now, that deal could be eclipsed according to one MLB insider.

Early in the offseason, the Chicago Cubs were the center of attention in the baseball world after they made a shocking decision to fire their manager David Ross and hire their division rival's manager Craig Counsell.

In addition to the surprise decision to make that change, the record-setting deal that the Cubs gave to Counsell was also historic.

The five-year, $40 million contract made him the highest paid manager in MLB history.

Now, Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, is reporting that deal might be old news by the time the next offseason rolls around.

"Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell’s record-setting, five-year, $40 million contract, may last only one year. Several teams have already expressed strong interest in Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who’s a free agent after the season," he wrote.

The former Major League player, turned broadcaster, turned coach, has spent five seasons as manager of the Boston Red Sox after being the bench coach with the Houston Astros from 2016-17.

Alex Cora was hired by the Red Sox ahead of the 2018 season and became the fifth rookie manager to ever win the World Series. Following the 2019 season, Boston and Cora mutually parted ways after his role in the Astros' sign stealing scandal.

He was re-hired by the Red Sox following 2020 and will hit free agency after the 2024 season.

Cora's second tenure with Boston has not gone as well as his first. He has a record of 248-238 with two last place finishes in back-to-back years.

Still, Nightengale is reporting that other teams have enough interest in the World Series winning manager that they might eclipse what Chicago paid Counsell.

This will be something to monitor because there's a good chance that the Cubs might have actually reset the market for managers instead of being an outlier with the contract that they handed out this offseason.