National MLB writer Jim Bowden of The Athletic has chosen Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman for the Mariano Rivera Award for the American League’s top reliever in 2025.
He also predicted on Tuesday that Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony will finish as the AL Rookie of the Year runner-up.
The former MLB general manager released his American League award predictions on Tuesday and also has Boston manager Alex Cora as one of the top finishers in the AL Manager of the Year voting.
Bowden picked Cora to finish third, behind his top candidate (Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch) and runner-up John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays.
“There are many elite managers in the AL, including the Rangers’ Bruce Bochy and the Yankees’ Aaron Boone. However, the manager of the year doesn’t usually get awarded to the best manager but rather the manager who overachieved the most with the team he’s been leading,” he wrote. “Schneider and Cora have done similarly impressive jobs with the teams they’ve skippered as well, with Schneider on track to lead the Blue Jays back to the postseason after a difficult 2024 season and Cora keeping the Red Sox in the thick of the postseason race in the competitive AL East.”
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Cora is in his seventh season at the helm in Beantown and his fifth year of his second stint.
The 49-year-old has never been AL Manager of the Year but finished second in 2018 (the last time the Red Sox won the World Series). Cora also placed fifth in the voting in 2021 (the last time the team made the playoffs) and seventh last season.
Featured image via Paul Rutherford/Imagn Images
