Alex Cora says he’ll be back as Red Sox skipper in 2024

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that he'll be back in the same dugout for the 2024 season.

Despite a disappointing season, a change at the top of leadership and only one year remaining on his contract, Cora didn't waiver.

"I'm good. I'll be here next year," Cora told reporters.

Asked if he was given assurances from ownership, Cora replied, "Yes, I'll be here next year."

The Red Sox entered Wednesday's action 76-81 and in last place in the American League East. The club fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom earlier this month after three-plus years.

Regardless of who the organization hires to replace Bloom, Cora already has the wheels turning on how to improve a leaky defense that plagued the team this season.

"When we go to spring training, we do a lot of stuff on the back fields, but we need to do more in the stadium -- baserunning-wise, defensively," Cora said. "We have to sacrifice a few things for the benefit of the group, and I think we'll do more at the stadium than any other years I've been here."

But the one thing Cora is not thinking about is his contract. He said he's not the least bit fazed by having just one year left.

"The lame duck? I don't believe in that, bro," Cora told The Boston Globe earlier this week. "You sign your contract and you've got to go to work. That's all I can control right now."