MLB Manager Hot Seat Odds 2026: Alex Cora Favored To Be First Fired After Red Sox’s Ugly Start

By Christopher Boan

Apr 8th, 2026 2:18 PM EDT

Cora and the Sox are off to a slow start in the 2026 (USATODAY)

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While the 2026 MLB regular season is in its infancy, it’s never too early to look at which skipper might get the boot first.

With that in mind, the team at Bookies.com broke down the odds on which MLB manager will get fired first, with Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox leading the way right now.

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Next MLB Manager Fired Odds

Odds above are projected by Bookies.com and are not currently available at legal sportsbooks or betting apps.

The MLB season is heating up — and some managers are already on the hot seat. Here are the top betting favorites to be the first manager fired in 2026.

Which MLB Manager Will Get Fired First?

It is still early, but the first MLB manager fired market is already starting to take shape. Boston has opened 3-8 and sits 5.5 games back in the AL East, which puts Alex Cora squarely in focus despite his extension running through 2027.

Houston’s Joe Espada remains a strong candidate because the Astros are still in win-now mode and he is entering a contract year, while Kurt Suzuki’s one-year deal with the Angels makes him an easy manager to price near the top if Los Angeles slides.

In Boston’s case, while few expected the Sox to be otherworldly this year, with the team at ESPN projecting them to go 87-75, with 60% playoff odds, the AL East stalwarts have fallen well shy of those modest expectations, even.

That’s because Boston’s 3-8 record has seen them get outscored 39-to-55, meaning their early season slide has more to do with shoddy play than bad luck.

A Look At The Candidates To Get Fired First

Given Cora’s job status entering the year, with Boston having failed to advance in the postseason since 2021 and having lost to their rivals from New York in last year’s AL Wild Card Series, it’s easy to see why he’s a leading candidate to get fired first.

Espada’s time in Houston has followed a similar trajectory, as the first-time manager took over a World Series-winning club under his predecessor (Dusty Baker), only to go 181-154 but with zero playoff wins in 2024 and 2025, setting the stage for a now-or-never season.

The Astros’ eight-year postseason streak ended on Espada’s watch in 2025, meaning the team’s sluggish, 6-6 start in 2026 might be more of a warning sign than it would be for other franchises.

That dilemma helps explain why Espada (+425) has the second-best odds of being the first MLB manager fired this year, behind Cora at +300.

Aside from those two AL skippers, keep an eye on another AL West first-time manager, in Kurt Suzuki of the Los Angeles Angels (+600) and Arizona Diamondbacks’ veteran Torey Lovullo (+850).

In Suzuki’s case, a 6-6 start has L.A. a half-game back of the Texas Rangers in the AL West standings, which would seem to indicate he’s on firm ground given how mediocre the club has been in recent years.

Still, given the trigger-happy nature of team owner Arte Moreno, who has fired two managers (Phil Nevin and Ron Washington) in the last three seasons, there’s no room for comfort if you’re managing the Halos in SoCal.

Lovullo’s case for being the first manager fired is a bit more reasonable, as he enters his 10th season leading the D’backs, with back-to-back years missing the postseason, including last year’s 80-82 dud in the desert.

A similarly sluggish 5-6 start to the 2026 season in Phoenix has Lovullo on shaky ground, with a return to the postseason likely needing to happen if he’s going to return to the Valley for an 11th season with the club.

Finally, two MLB managing long shots, firing wise, are New York Mets’ skipper Carlos Mendoza at +1000 and Rob Thomson of the Philadelphia Phillies, at +1200.

With Mendoza entering his third year in charge of the Mets and having failed to reach the playoffs since New York made the NLCS in 2024, it might be now or never for the first-time skipper.

The Mets’ 7-4 start might buy him time, though, which is why we have Mendoza so far down on our MLB firing odds board.

Thomson might not get such a break, as a 6-5 start to the season means the Phils’ will have to hit the ground running if they’re going to win 90 games for a fourth straight season.

Still, the above-.500 starts in Flushing and Philly will likely buy both men time, which is why we’re not expecting the Mets or Phillies to make a change on the bench, at least before their AL counterparts in Boston and Houston do.

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About the Author

Christopher Boan

More About Christopher

Christopher Boan has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, with stops at ArizonaSports.com, Tucson Weekly and Green Valley News.

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