Terry Francona comes out of retirement to lead the Reds in 2025

Terry Francona, whose teams won two World Series and narrowly missed third place, returns to the stressful world of management after a year-long hiatus for health reasons.

According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the 65-year-old Francona is reportedly returning to the National League, where he once managed the Phillies, with the struggling Cincinnati Reds. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that he has a three-year contract, although the team has not yet officially announced his hiring.

Cincinnati is finishing a season in fourth place with a 77-85 record, which puts the team 16 games behind leader Milwaukee but just one game ahead of last-place Pittsburgh.

The Reds are resigned to losing Nick Martinez, one of their better pitchers, to free agency and may have to cut their already low $100 million payroll after losing the broadcast revenue stream provided by Diamond Sports , which cut ties with eleven clubs earlier this week .

Francona, a former outfielder whose father also played in the major leagues, played for the Reds in 1987. He also wore the jerseys of the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers and batted .274 with 16 home runs as a part-time player.

A much more successful manager, he piloted the Phillies from 1997 to 2000, the Red Sox from 2004 to 2011 and Cleveland from 2013 to 2023, winning more games than any other manager in Cleveland history.

Francona was named American League Manager of the Year in 2013, 2016 and 2022, but strangely not in 2004, when his Red Sox became the only team to overcome a 3-0 deficit and win a postseason series.

The Sox then won their first World Series since 1918, effectively ending the “Curse of the Bambino” that began when the team traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees on January 3, 1920.

He made the playoffs in five of his eight years in Boston, won his second World Series ring in 2007 and never suffered a losing season there.

During Francona’s 11-year tenure in Cleveland, the club won one pennant, reached the postseason six times and posted a 22-game winning streak in 2017, an American League record.

When the Chicago Cubs earned an 8-7 victory in 10 innings despite a rain delay in Game 7 of the 2016 Fall Classic, winning a world championship was just a few seconds away.

A South Dakota native, Francona grew up in rural Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. She has a career winning percentage of .538 and 1,950 wins as a manager. He also has a 44-34 postseason record, including a 28-17 record with the Red Sox (he was 16-17 with Cleveland).

Francona succeeds David Bell in Cincinnati, but inherits many of the up-and-coming young players who thrilled fans in the Queen City.

Pitcher Hunter Greene and shortstop Elly De La Cruz were All-Stars in 2024 and the latter finished the season with 67 stolen bases, a National League-leading 25 home runs.

Fellow infielder Jeimer Candelario would be the highest-paid player on the 2025 roster unless new players are added through trades or free agent signings. He would earn $16 million as part of his three-year, $45 million contract.

The Reds hope to emulate the success of the Texas Rangers, who lured 68-year-old Bruce Bochy out of retirement last year and reaped the rewards when he promptly won a World Series.

Like Cleveland, Cincinnati needs to achieve maximum success with limited resources and is hoping Francona’s experience could be the deciding factor.

The experienced pilot was chosen over a handful of younger candidates.