CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds officially introduced Terry Francona as the team's new manager Monday morning.
Francona agreed to a 3-year contract through the 2027 season with a club option for 2028.
Francona started his introductory press conference by reminiscing on the 1987 Reds team he played on and the similarities it had to today's team. He jokingly blamed Pete Rose, the manager at the time, for playing a young Francona too much.
The new skipper talked a lot about situational management and relationships, noting that more accountability on this Reds team would come through trust.
"The players we have, we're going to try and get them the best they can be, whether they're 20 or they're 30 or they're 40," Francona said.
Francona retired after the 2023 season, his last home game being a 4-3 win over the Reds. Now 66, "Tito" dealt with health issues toward the end of his tenure in Cleveland. He missed most of the 2020 season and had to step away for part of the 2021 season.
"I honestly didn't see myself managing again. I had a really good year away from the game. I honestly needed to step away... I didn't think I could do the job up to the caliber that was necessary," Francona said.
Francona noted that he offered to do jumping jacks for the Reds front office staff to prove he was on the mend. They declined that offer.
Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall said he got connected to Francona through Marty Brennaman, a good friend of Francona's.
Francona said when he met with Krall and the rest of the Reds front office, "it just felt right."
He is the winningest manager in Guardians history and 13th on the career list. Before his time in Cleveland, Francona won two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox — including the 2004 championship that ended the Curse of the Bambino.
"I don't think it matters what you've done in the past. You earn your stripes every day," Francona said of his previous accolades.
Francona mentioned excitement when thinking about the Reds roster.
"This is an extremely talented, young team. That excites me a lot," Francona said.
Francona was asked a follow-up about Pete Rose, and he spoke about how much he revered the late Reds legend.
"We thought Pete walked on water. As a teammate, he treated us kids like gold," Francona said.
The new manager said he will be focused on constructively solving problems and taking the season one day at a time.
"When something goes wrong, my goal is to make sure it doesn't go wrong again," Francona said.
MLB.com's Mark Feinsand first reported that Francona would come out of retirement one year after leaving the Cleveland Guardians to take over the Reds job. Cincinnati fired David Bell in September following a disappointing 2024 season that once again saw the team miss the playoffs.
