Yankees dealt another gut punch with positive Red Sox-Alex Cora update

Staring down the barrel at an offseason predicated on selling the future to Juan Soto, the Yankees appeared to have one Hail Mary left in their playbook that could've returned them to Evil Empire status immediately: paying free agent enemy manager Alex Cora to fill Aaron Boone's role.

Sure, Cora was dismissed from his position in Boston prior to the 2020 season after the scope of his role in the Astros' 2017 cheating scandal was revealed, but what's more evil than winning at all costs? Clearly, it hasn't bothered the Sox much; they welcomed him back prior to the 2021 season despite showing no remorse about his role in tilting a title (not to mention whatever rules he skirted in 2018, too).

Or maybe that was just the video guy. Yup. Alllllll the video guy.

Cora, a long-time friend of Boone, would've represented a welcome heel turn that could've energized a Yankees clubhouse in need of a jolt, as well as a manager who always seems to do more with less instead of the exact opposite. Given the Red Sox propensity to cry "cash poor" the past few years, it felt like an inevitability that Cora would, at the very least, be priced out of Boston after 2024, perhaps the only thing that could've stopped their young core in its tracks.

Turns out ... nope. According to Jeff Passan, recent contract extension talks between the two parties turned fruitful, leading into what will likely be a magnanimous trade deadline. About an hour later, MLB insider Jon Heyman confirmed the extension, meaning Cora's future in Boston will now extend beyond his lame duck season.

Yankees enemy Alex Cora to extend with Boston Red Sox beyond 2024

Full terms of the extension have yet to leak, but I believe it's a three-year contract for $7 million per season that includes the stipulation that, if he's fired for a third cheating offense, he can walk back to his previous position in 30 days with no repercussions and accept a $2 million raise.

Despite his still-somehow-unpunished baseball transgressions, Cora has been a maximizer of talent since the day he stepped into the Red Sox dugout. He was the best thing the franchise had going for it from 2021-24, and this current Boston roster would be nowhere near contention without his finger on the pulse. With top prospects like Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel set to join the Red Sox in the near future, things will only get brighter with him at the helm.

But hey, look on the bright side. Aaron Boone's price just went up.