The Cleveland Guardians will seemingly let Terry Francona decide when he’s done

The Cleveland Guardians are pretty much all in on Terry Francona until he’s done.

It seems odd but it appears that most of the pro squads in Cleveland could fire their current coach in 2023. The Cleveland Browns may fire Kevin Stefanski despite having a lot of potential for 2023. The Cleveland Cavaliers fandom isn’t sure that J.B. Bickerstaff is the guy to lead the Cavs to the NBA Finals after a list of very peculiar decisions. Yet, the one squad that is not going to fire their players’ leaders is the Cleveland Guardians.

The Guardians, unlike the other two squads in this city, are not only not looking to make a coaching change but are all in on their manager. That’s right, the Guards are apparently all in on Francona, not just for 2023 but for life. Or as long as he wants the job.

That’s right, the Guardians are seemingly all in on Francona for as long as he wants to manage, regardless of the situation. This isn’t surprising, Francona is entering his 11th season as the team’s skipper, and has only had one losing season since joining Cleveland in 2013.

He’s had six seasons of 90 wins and has had a winning percentage higher than .562 seven times. So it makes sense that the Guardians’ ownership will ride with him for as long as possible.

That said, MLB Trade Rumor believes there’s a very good chance that the 2023 season is it for Francona, and that he may step away when the season closes its doors.

"Guardians: There hasn’t yet been any public word on the details of Terry Francona’s extension, but the reigning AL Manager Of The Year has already been confirmed as returning for the 2023 campaign.  Given Francona’s health issues, 2023 could be his final season in the dugout, but the Guardians’ front office and team owner Paul Dolan have both intimated that Francona can remain as manager as long as he is willing and able.  President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti also doesn’t seem to be in any danger, though the longtime Cleveland exec’s contract terms aren’t known."

Terry Francona stabilized the Cleveland Guardians

We’re entering 11 seasons of stability with Francona, and likely, should he retire, he’ll name his successor to take over, continuing the squad’s stability into the future. Francona’s impact may not be a big deal to some fans, but if you look at the other Cleveland sports teams, you know just how important a good, competent leader can be to your club long term. It turns you from a squad trying to win in a given “window”, to a team that can transcend arbitrary concepts like rebuilding and instead becomes a team that reloads.

This is a common trend for the Cavs and Browns, and it was for the Guardians as well. Between 1999 and 2012, the Guardians had four full-time managers in those 14 seasons. (Five and 15 if you count Francona.)

We had some good managers sure, going from Mike Hargrove to Charlie Manuel was alright. Then Manuel was let go when the team started rebuilding and then Eric Wedge got his shot. He was a solid skipper as well. Then the team brought in Manny Acta and my word, what a terrible era of the team.

Then the squad moved on to Francona.

To think he’s just four full seasons away from lasting as long as those four men total lasted is something. Sure, Hargrove was here for eight seasons on his own, but we’re just counting the end of his era to the start of Francona’s.

Francona really has been something special during his tenure in Cleveland and while his health will decide how long he remains in that position, it’s good to know the Guardians value him as much as the players and fanbase.