5 possible candidates to become the next Red Sox manager

This post has been updated to reflect comments made by Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski.

The John Farrell era ended with the Red Sox’ formal announcement on Wednesday morning that he won’t be returning for another season. Coming on the heels of the team’s second straight playoff elimination in the Division Series, Farrell’s exit leaves his successor with a level of expectation.

In the short term, Boston management will be searching for a suitable replacement. The Globe’s Peter Abraham and others have mentioned several prominent names as potential replacements.

Here’s a a look at a few candidates:

Brad Ausmus: The Connecticut native played for 18 seasons as a catcher before retiring in 2010. He was named manager of the Detroit Tigers prior to the 2014 season, holding the post through the end of this season. During that time, Ausmus made the postseason once as winners of the AL Central in 2014.

Alex Cora: Playing as a utility infielder from 1998-2011, Cora was a member of the 2007 World Series champion Red Sox. During his time in Boston, Cora was seen as a “positive influence” on Manny Ramirez, and a true professional. Cora followed his playing career with a stint as a television analyst, and most recently as the bench coach of the AL West champion Houston Astros.

Ron Gardenhire: Born at a US military base in West Germany in 1957, Gardenhire eventually made his way into baseball as a sixth round draft pick by the Mets in 1979, where he was a utility infielder from 1981 to 1985. After coaching in the Twins organization from 1988 to 2001, he was named Twins manager in 2002. In 13 seasons, he led Minnesota to six division titles, winning manager of the year in 2010. In 2017, Gardenhire was the Diamondbacks’ bench coach.

Mike Redmond: The 46-year-old played 13 seasons as a catcher for the Marlins, Twins, and Indians. Redmond retired from playing in 2010, and took a role in management a year later. After working for multiple minor league teams, he was handed an opportunity to manage the Marlins in November of 2012. After getting off to a 16-22 start in 2015, Redmond was fired by the Marlins in May. In the 2017 season, he was the bench coach for the Rockies.

Jason Varitek: The former catcher played every game of his 15-year career with the Red Sox. He was one of the team leaders for both the 2004 and 2007 World Series champions. Varitek has no managerial experience, but has acted a a special assistant to both Ben Cherington and Dave Dombrowski.