Terry Francona close to making major decision

Dec 12, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona talks to the media during the MLB Winter Meetings at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Clark-USA TODAY Sports

Terry Francona is close to making a major decision.

The Cleveland Guardians manager joined “Loud Outs” on SiriusXM MLB Radio Tuesday for an interview. Francona seems to be almost certainly headed for retirement after the season.

“I think I’ve been pretty clear with people. I don’t want to have the last month be like a sendoff or a pity party. That’s not how it feels. But it’s time. My body is telling me that. My head is telling me that. And I don’t want to stay on for the wrong reasons,” Francona said.

“And I hope I have too much respect for not just the game, but for this organization to do that. So I’ve been pretty clear with the guys I work for, told them to start preparing. Because, it’s time.”

Terry Francona addresses his future as the Guardians manager.#ForTheLand | @CleGuardians pic.twitter.com/hRrYycVkGH

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) September 5, 2023

Francona hinted to reporters a few weeks ago that retirement was imminent, so his comments on Tuesday are not too surprising.

The 64-year-old has dealt with numerous health issues over the last three years. Francona was briefly hospitalized earlier this season. He also missed significant time during the 2020 season after undergoing multiple surgeries to address a blood-clotting issue.

A former player, Francona has been highly successful as a manager. He led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles, including the championship in 2004 that helped break the team’s curse (they hadn’t previously won a World Series since 1918). After being unceremoniously pushed out by the Red Sox after the 2011 season, Francona was hired by Cleveland. He immediately won AL Manager of the Year in his first year with them (2013), took them to the World Series in 2016, and ended up winning two more AL Manager of the Year awards (2016, 2022).

Cleveland entered play on Tuesday 66-72 on the season.