Red Sox hire Astros bench coach Alex Cora as new manager

The Boston Red Sox have looked to a familiar face for their manager position.

The team announced Sunday afternoon that it has hired Alex Cora, who spent 2005-08 with the franchise as an infielder and is currently the Houston Astros' bench coach, as its next manager.

Cora, 42, has received a three-year deal with a club option for a fourth year, according to the Red Sox. He replaces John Farrell, who was fired Oct. 11.

"Returning to the Red Sox and the city of Boston is a dream come true for me and my family," Cora said in a statement, "and I look forward to working toward the ultimate goal of winning another championship for this city and its great fans."

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Cora has no Major League Baseball managerial experience but was considered one of the top managerial candidates this offseason. He has been a general manager and manager of a winter ball team in his native Puerto Rico.

"His first year of coaching has gone well, given his ability to connect with players and given his baseball intellect," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said last week, via MLB.com. "He's very sharp, sees the game in an extraordinarily deep way, has really connected well with players in our clubhouse and spent a lot of time developing relationships and being the bench-coach liaison to the clubhouse that I asked him to be."

Cora will remain with the Astros, who advanced to the World Series with a win over the New York Yankees on Saturday night, through the remainder of this season.

Cora previously spent four years as a broadcaster for ESPN. He also played 1,273 games across 14 seasons as an infielder, recording a .243/.310/.338 triple-slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/on-base plus slugging percentage).