Dave Dombrowski eagerly wants to recreate World Series magic with Alex Cora, but the former Boston Red Sox manager is not interested in a reunion at this time. The Philadelphia Phillies will have to find someone else to fill their skipper position.

Boston fired Cora just a few days before Philly cut ties with Rob Thomson, so the two sides could have come together as early as April. The former utility infielder rejected Dombrowski's advances then, paving the way for Don Mattingly to occupy the job in an interim capacity, and he is doing so again more than five months later. Cora informed his former boss that he is taking the 2027 MLB campaign off, per USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale.

The 50-year-old Puerto Rican will be collecting a paycheck regardless, so it is understandable that he would want to spend more time with his family and avoid the baseball grind for at least a little while longer. Cora worked as a studio analyst for ESPN in the 201os before transitioning to a bench coach role with the Houston Astros in 2016, so he should have options next year.

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But what about the Phillies? They clearly had a candidate in mind, and now that he is out of the running, Dave Dombrowski will have to find another worthy choice. Fans have passed impatience and are reaching disgust after seeing their squad fall short to the Atlanta Braves in the National League Wild Card Series. Philadelphia has not advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs since 2023.

The Phillies' search marches on.