The Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal has had a ripple effect across Major League Baseball. A total of three managers have now been fired, including Astros bench boss A.J. Hinch, New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran and Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Red Sox are just a year removed from being the World Series winners but they missed the playoffs last year, finishing with a record of 84-78. With a potent lineup, this team is not far off from being a contender once again. The question is who will manage them next? BetOnline has posted odds on the Red Sox job<\/a> and it\u2019s Jason Varitek who is currently favored to take over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are actually six candidates at with odds inside of 8\/1 but Varitek is the heavy favorite at EVEN money. After being a key member of the 2004 and 2007 World Series championship teams, so he\u2019s popular among the fan base. He\u2019s also been working for the organization since 2012, so he would be an internal hire. The challenge is he\u2019s never been a manager before, so that could hold him back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m actually surprised that he\u2019s not the favorite for this job. He was a bench coach under Cora for the last couple of seasons and is familiar with the day-to-day needs of the team. He\u2019s also been a manager before as he managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2011-15. He even guided them to the National League Championship Series one year. It would probably be a fairly smooth transition under him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Febles is another internal option as he\u2019s been the team\u2019s third-base coach and infield instructor over the last couple of seasons. Overall, he\u2019s been with the Red Sox for 13 years. One edge he has over Varitek is that he does have managerial experience as he\u2019s managed 904 games in the minors. The players would likely appreciate this move as it would probably mean there wouldn\u2019t be significant change from Cora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the first two are options inside the organization, going with a guy like Kotsay would mean an external hire. Kotsay did spend a year with the team in 2008-09 but has been with the Oakland Athletics in various capacities since 2012. He\u2019s currently the team\u2019s quality control coach. He did get interviews with the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates, so it\u2019s clear that teams around the league view him as having potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Perez currently serves as a baseball analyst for ESPN and is among the names that are being floated for the Red Sox job. In the past, an analyst becoming a coach would have been a stretch but Aaron Boone has done well, making the transition from ESPN to the New York Yankees with success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Perez has held a number of coaching positions, including being the 2008 Puerto Rico Baseball Manager of the Year. He\u2019s generally liked and is viewed as a sharp baseball mind. It wouldn\u2019t be a surprise if he ended up with the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the latest Major League Baseball odds and information–follow BetOnline.ag on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\nJASON VARITEK
ODDS: +100<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nRON ROENICKE
ODDS: +400 <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nCARLOS FEBLES
ODDS: +700<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nMARK KOTSAY
ODDS: +700<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nEDUARDO PEREZ
ODDS: +1000<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n