After a surprising run to the 2022 AL Division Series, Terry Francona is ready to run it back with the Cleveland Guardians next season. The 63-year-old manager confirmed this on Friday, saying that he’ll return as the Guardians’ manager in 2023.
Francona previously indicated that he might walk away from managing due to health issues he has been experiencing in recent years. However, a surprise playoff run with the youngest MLB team changed his mind, and now Francona wants to see how far he can take them.
“We have something, I think, that could be pretty special here moving forward,” Francona told reporters. “I enjoyed the heck out of our players this year.”
While Francona still hasn’t inked a contract, there is no doubt that this is a pure formality. It is something Guardians’ president Chris Antonetti made clear after the team’s season ended.
“We want Tito to manage as long as it makes sense for him,” Antonetti said.
Terry Francona joined the Guardians in 2013 and went on to become the winningest manager in the franchise’s history with 845 wins. He made playoffs in six out of his 10 seasons in Cleveland, including a World Series appearance in 2016.
Francona previously managed the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox. He has two World Series trophies with the Red Sox on his resume.
