Here's a release from ESPN announcing that former Boston Red Sox IF Alex Cora will be joining ESPN:

Former Major League Baseball player Alex Cora has joined ESPN and ESPN Deportes as an MLB analyst. Cora will provide insights and analysis for various platforms across both networks, including Baseball Tonight, Beisbol Esta Noche, SportsCenter and other studio programming. He will also contribute to ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes Radio. 

“Television will be an exciting new challenge for me,” said Cora. “I look forward to joining ESPN’s deep bench of analysts to share my insights, experience and passion for baseball with fans and viewers on Baseball Tonight, Beisbol Esta Noche and across ESPN’s various platforms.”

Added Mike McQuade, vice president, production, “Alex is a tremendous acquisition for us. He is well-regarded across baseball as an astute student of the game and prospective manager. His unique combination of major league experience, thoughtful analysis and polished communication skills in two languages will strengthen our baseball coverage across several ESPN platforms.”

Cora, a Puerto Rican native, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1993 First-Year Player Draft but opted to play for the University of Miami, where he reached the College World Series three times. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1996 and made his major league debut on June 7, 1998.

After seven years with the club, Cora signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians in 2005. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox midway through the
season. He stayed with Boston for three seasons and won a World Series with the club in 2007. Throughout his 14-year career, he also spent time with the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals. Cora was a solid defensive player (career .976 fielding percentage) and a versatile infielder with strong knowledge of the game and leadership skills.

Most recently, Cora lead Puerto Rico’s Caguas Criollos to the 2013 Caribbean Series in his first year as general manager of the club. Cora previously played for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic – both in 2006 and 2009.


(beforeitsnews.com)

Former Red Sox infielder Alex Cora joined Kirk Minihane and Rob Bradford Thursday to express his surprise that only four Red Sox attended the funeral of Johnny Pesky on Monday. 

"I was very surprised," Cora said. "I think what Johnny means and meant to the players and the people in Boston, he was more than just a people person. Just walking into that clubhouse and seeing Johnny smile and greeting you in there and talking about baseball and life in general, he meant a lot, especially to a lot of people in there. I was very surprised to hear that only four players showed up to the funeral." 

The Red Sox had rented buses to take players and staff from Fenway to the church in Swampscott on Monday -- an off-day -- but the player turnout was limited to just David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, Vicente Padilla and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Cora said that if he were on the team, he wouldn't have needed someone to tell him to attend the funeral because it would be obvious that he needed to go. 

"I don't think somebody has to say it," he said. "I think everybody understands what he means to the organization. There are certain things that go beyond an off day. This is a situation that nobody wanted, but it happened. As a person, you've got to put yourself not as a baseball player, but as a person. Your family understands that there's something big going on. … I understand that it's been a tough season, a lot of things have happened, but just a few hours of your day off to pay respects to Johnny, I don't think it's going to hurt anybody. 

"For me personally, if I was in that situation, there's a pretty good chance that nobody would have had to tell me, 'You have to go,'" Cora said. "You take matters into your own hands and do what is right, and that was the right thing to do."


(weei.com)

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Alex Cora's briefcareer with St. Louis ended Sunday when the Cardinals released the utility infielder.

Cora hit .208 in 24 at-bats with one run, one RBI and no extra base hits. He had agreed Feb. 6 to a minor league contract that would have paid $800,000 if he had been added to the 40-man roster.

A 36-year-old who began his big league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998, Cora hit .224 with seven extra-base hits in 172 plate appearances for Washington last year. He also has played for Cleveland, Boston, the New York Mets and Texas.

St. Louis released Cora despite injuries in the middle infield. Skip Schumaker, last year's starting second baseman will likely start the season on the disabled list with an oblique injury and could be headed to the outfield when he returns.

St. Louis also released catcher Koyie Hill.


(ksdk.com)

JUPITER, Fla. — At 36, Alex Cora [stats] isn’t sure how much time he has left in his playing career.

The Cardinals signed the utility infielder and former University of Miami shortstop last month really for one thing — to help mentor the team’s less-experienced infielders.

But if signing with the defending World Series champions in his 15th major-league season has provided Cora with anything of real value, it has been allowing him the chance to reunite with his older brother, Marlins bench coach Joey Cora.

With the Marlins and Cardinals sharing Roger Dean Stadium and its facilities, the Coras have been living together in Jupiter since arriving for spring training.

"It’s been great being able to sit down together and just have dinner," said Alex, who is 10 years younger than Joey, a former first-round pick out of Vanderbilt who made his major-league debut with the Padres in 1987 at age 22.

"Our father died in 1988. When you lose your dad when you’re a young kid, your big brother becomes everything for you. This is the most time we’ve been able to spend together since we were kids in (Caguas,) Puerto Rico. He doesn’t know how much it means to me. Hopefully, his dream of becoming a big-league manager will come true soon."

Every manager has a right-hand man. For Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, Joey Cora has been that guy.

Friends since their playing days when they were the double-play tandem for the White Sox from 1991 to ’94, Guillen gave Cora his first big-league coaching job in 2003 after a short stint as a manager in the Mets’ minor-league system.

Except for when Cora has been called away to interview for other managerial jobs with the Mariners (2008) and Brewers (2011), Guillen has always had him by his side to provide a calming effect for his own volatile personality .

"Great coach. Very organized. A great baseball man," Guillen said of Cora, his bench coach since 2006.

"Surprises me this kid is not managing in this level right now. Very, very surprised. Very disappointed. I think he has a lot of potential to be a pretty good manager. Maybe I’ve hurt him. Maybe they say ’We don’t want to hire somebody like Ozzie.’

"But, he’s my right-hand man for a reason. When you have a guy like Joey Cora, it makes the manager’s job very easy. I don’t have (stuff) to worry about. He’s a good one. The day he’s a manager I’ll be very proud, very happy. But I’ll also be very sad."

Cora handles a lot of duties for Guillen. He coordinates spring training and "takes care of all the little things," so the manager can concentrate on evaluation. When Guillen wants to see a hitter face a right-hander or a left-hander, Cora said, "my job is to try and accommodate that."

"During the season, it’s a matter of getting all the information we have and trying to present it to him as simple as possible so he can make a decision as easy as possible," Cora said. "I’ll break down the matchups, give him on-base percentage, all kinds of stats so he can make the best decision possible."

As passionate as Guillen is about the game, he said Cora "might love it even more."

"What I remember of Joey when I was in middle school was his work ethic. He never rested," Alex Cora said. "He was running early, taking ground balls, hitting. He would carry his pitching machine with him in the trunk of his car everywhere he went so he could put it up and get batting in when he needed it. He worked on his craft.

"As a player, he maximized everything he had. He was 5-7, 100-whatever pounds and became an All-Star in Seattle. As a baseball player, it was amazing to see him work. As a coach, it’s the same thing. That camp the Marlins are running? He had that set up in December. He’s very passionate about work."

Alex Cora said his brother learned that from their father, who served as a scout in Puerto Rico and also started their neighborhood’s Little League chapter in 1969.

"What we learned from him is you have to be passionate about whatever you do and I think Joey is a perfect example of that," Alex Cora [stats] said.

"I think people around baseball know how important he is for Ozzie and Ozzie is for him. He gets the respect. It was tough last year with everything that happened (in Chicago) and the way it ended (Cora received a text message from White Sox management telling him he had been fired). But everything happens for a reason and he’s at home now. He lives down there in Miami and can see his two kids every day while he enjoys his passion."

And what Joey Cora is passionate about now is winning another ring.

"We’ve got a pretty good team here," he said. "All we want to do is win."


(bostonherald.com)

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The past two days provide all the information needed to understand who Alex Cora is.

On Wednesday, he made his first career start of any sort at first base. On Thursday, he was starting at the other corner. While taking ground balls there during batting practice, the veteran infielder was chatting up prospect Ryan Jackson before moving over to get some work in at second base as well.

After spending several years early in his career as an everyday infielder, Cora has been able to remain a Major Leaguer for 14 seasons thanks largely to his versatility, as well as what appears to be his natural leadership skills. He came to the Cardinals on a Minor League deal with the hopes of bringing those qualities to the defending World Series champions and extending his career just a little bit longer.

"[Manager] Mike [Matheny] picked a great day yesterday with like 20 lefties in the lineup," Cora joked about his start at first. "In the situation I'm in, I'll take whatever comes my way. I'm not going to make excuses. It's a learning process. I'm 36 years old, and every time I come here, I learn something new. If I have to learn how to play first base, I'll do it.

"It's just a matter of repetition. I've done it before, but it was always, like, in an emergency. People think it's an easy position. I was talking to Lance Berkman about it yesterday. There are some ins and outs of the position."

"That's going to be a part of his game," Matheny said. "I thought he looked good over there. I think he can play anywhere on the infield and stand out as a solid defender. A guy that's been around for [14 years] in the big leagues has a pretty good understanding of what he needs to do there even though he hasn't had the starts. We've been talking since Day 1 about having versatility and flexibility, and a guy like that certainly can do that."

Cora has played in 13 regular-season games at first base, but only a handful of innings. Cora has played all over the infield over the course of his career, and he will continue to do so assuming he earns a spot on St. Louis' 25-man roster. Ironically, the position he's played with less frequency in recent years is the one he played every day for the Dodgers: shortstop. Cora is the first to recognize that's one question about his game he needs to answer to stick around, that he can still play the premium position when called upon.

Other players in his position, nearing the end of a robust career and working to win a roster spot, might take a more me-first approach to Spring Training. Yet Cora has been tireless in his efforts to mentor young infielders like Jackson throughout the spring. It's a pay-it-forward attitude that is very much appreciated by the mentees.

"It always means a lot when you have a guy who's had a lot of years in the big leagues and has played a lot of positions," Jackson said. "He's been there and done it. It's a really reliable source in terms of giving you information."

For Cora, it's just what's done. When he first got to Los Angeles, there were veterans like Jeff Reboulet, Dave Hansen and Kevin Elster, who took him under their wings. And of course there's his brother, Joey, a former All-Star and now the bench coach for the Marlins, who was a shining example of how to conduct business on the field from an early age.

Once Cora stopped being an everyday guy, when he got to Cleveland in 2005, he understood immediately that it was his time to take on that veteran role. Jhonny Peralta was Cora's first student. Then there was that undersized middle infielder with the Red Sox who took over at second base in 2007, followed by keeping an eye on Jose Reyes (and filling in for him quite a bit when he was hurt) in New York in 2009.

It was never a question of worrying about the student outstripping the teacher. It's what the previous generation had done for him, and there was never any doubt about whether he would follow suit when the time came.

"I learned from them, and that's what I do, too," Cora said. "I'm a part of this organization, and for us to be better, anything I can do to help those kids out, I'll do it."

Having a coach on the field like Cora is a good thing for any manager, and perhaps an even bigger bonus for a rookie skipper like Matheny. In the short time they've been together this spring, Matheny already sees a future path for the veteran, one Cora's older brother has already taken.

"That's Alex's makeup," Matheny said. "I know it's something our veterans have a desire to do, to help out our younger players and figure out how they can pass on some of the things they know. You can see he's wired, he can be in this game for a long time instructing and teaching if he desires to do so once he's done."

Cora appreciates the kind words, but he doesn't want to dwell on his coaching bona fides just yet. Perhaps it's something that will come down the road, but it's clear he's not ready to talk about career changes just yet.

"I appreciate that, but the less I talk about [coaching], the better it is for Alex, the player," Cora said. "I take it as a compliment, but I really don't want to cross that line yet. I still want to play baseball. I still feel I can contribute."


(mlb.com)

JUPITER, Fla. -- After making just four starts during the second half of the 2011 season, Alex Cora found himself entertaining few offers this offseason. However, the 36-year-old said on Tuesday, after completing his first workout in Cardinals camp, that he never did prepare for the possibility of retiring.

Instead, Cora is now preparing for a six-week battle to earn a spot on his seventh different Major League roster. Invited to camp under a Minor League deal, Cora will be considered for a utility infield role.

"At this level, I'm going to play until someone says, 'No,'" Cora said. "I'm healthy, and I'm in a good situation where I think I can help this team win."
Last year, Cora had little opportunity to prove that, in his 14th big league season, he could still be a valuable infielder at this level. He got some starts at third with Washington early in the year when Ryan Zimmerman missed time with a left abdominal strain. Third base had actually been a fairly unfamiliar spot for Cora before that point.

He's made 616 Major League appearances at short and another 530 at second. Thirty-one of his 48 career third-base appearances came in 2011, and Cora has played another 13 games at first. He remains most comfortable at short, the position he played most regularly after being drafted in 1996.

How Cora fits on this club could hinge on what happens in the second-base competition between Daniel Descalso, Skip Schumaker and Tyler Greene. The two who do not win the starting job would likely remain on the roster as backup infielders, though Schumaker could also serve as a backup outfielder. If outfielder Allen Craig is also healthy, that would leave manager Mike Matheny with just one additional open bench spot to fill.
"Organizations look for players that have a lot of gloves in their locker, but at the same time are good players," Cora said. "I don't think I have to prove myself. I just think I have to come here and earn my spot. Everybody knows what I can do."


(mlb.com)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with veteran infielder Alex Cora on a minor league contract for the upcoming 2012 season. The deal includes a non-roster invite to the Cardinals Major League Spring Training camp.

Cora, 36, is a veteran of 12-plus seasons in the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland, Boston, the New York Mets, Texas and Washington.

The left-handed hitting Cora has compiled a career batting mark of .243 with 35 home runs, 286 RBI and 47 stolen bases in 1,273 games played. He appeared in 91 games for the Nationals last season, making appearances at all four infield positions, including 16 starts at third base. Cora has played the majority of his career at the middle infield positions, making 616 career appearances at shortstop and 530 at second base.

A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Cora played for Team Puerto Rico and its manager Jose Oquendo during the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Cora was a member of the World Champion Boston Red Sox in 2007.

The Cardinals will open their 2012 Spring Training camp on February 18 with reporting date for pitchers and catchers and their first workout is set for the following day. The team currently has 39 roster players and 20 non-roster invitees set to report.


(mlb.com)

The Cardinals are close to signing Alex Cora to a minor league contract reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The team didn't confirm that a deal was close. Cora is a Scott Boras client.

Earlier this month we learned that the 36-year-old infielder intended to play in 2012, though he was drawing interest as a coach. Cora hit just .224/.287/.276 in 172 plate appearances with the Nationals last season while playing all four infield spots.


(mlbtraderumors.com)

Updating a previous item, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that Alex Cora intends to play in MLB this season.

Reports from Puerto Rico indicated that Cora was ready to call it a career, but it turns out that he was merely announcing his retirement from winter ball play. The 36-year-old batted infielder just .224/.287/.276 over 172 plate appearances with the Nationals last season, so we wouldn't be surprised if a lack of interest ultimately pushes him into the coaching profession.


(rotoworld.com)

Former Nationals utility infielder Alex Cora played winter ball and was the Captain of the Caguas Criollos of Puerto Rico. After the Criollos final game of the season tonight, he announced his retirement from baseball.

Alex Cora, 36, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 1996 draft. Cora has played all over the infield for seven MLB teams: Dodgers, Blue Jays, Indians, Red Sox, Mets, Rangers and Nationals Maybe he’ll follow in his big brother Joey’s footsteps and coach.

From the Criollos de Caguas Facebook Page:

MENSAJE DE NUESTRO CAPITAN ALEX CORA ANUNCIANDO SU RETIRO: Gracias a todos ustedes por el apoyo que me dieron por 16 temporadas. Gozamos y sufrimos, ganamos y perdimos pero de corazón les digo que ser Criollo es lo mejor que hay. Hoy cierro un capítulo de mi carrera y del fondo de mi corazón les digo que lo hago con la frente en alto porque soy y siempre seré Criollo de pura cepa! Gracias a todos.
(Translated by Bing):

MESSAGE from our captain ALEX CORA announcing his retirement: thank you all for the support they gave me for 16 seasons. We enjoy and we suffer, we won and we lost but heart I can tell you that being Creole is the best there is. Now close a chapter in my career and in the bottom of my heart I say that I do with the high front because I am and always will be pure strain Creole! Thank you all.


(districtsportspages.com)

On the list of current players who could manage in the major leagues, Nationals utility infielder Alex Cora’s name would be right near or at the top. Teams inquired this offseason about his interest in managing, and General Manager Mike Rizzo has said he would be interested in Cora as a coach once his playing days finish.

But that will have wait. Cora said today that after his 14th season, he will keep playing in 2012 and beyond.

“I’ll be playing” next year, Cora said. “I’m only 36. Whenever people talk about the future, you better hold it, because I’m going to be playing until I don’t feel I can play well. I feel like I can contribute and help teams out. In my mind, there’s no doubt about that.”

Rizzo signed Cora to a minor league contract this winter, in part, to help mentor middle infielders Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa, which unfolded just as Rizzo hoped. He was also the rare utility infielder who batted left-handed.

On the field, Cora helped replace third baseman Ryan Zimmerman when he went on the disabled list for two months. He’s hitting .212/.282/.258 over 155 at-bats and has started only four games since the all-star break. Cora has primarily served as a pinch-hitter in the latter portion of the season, a role for which he is miscast. He’s 5 for 31 as a pinch-hitter this season.

“I know my job,” Cora said. “When the third baseman got hurt for a long period of time, I think I did my job. If you want to judge me for whatever numbers, I’m not a pinch-hitter. Obviously, that’s not my strength. Offense has never been my strength. When he got hurt, me and Jerry did a great job. We kept the team afloat. That’s what you have to do. The other two kids, they played great. They were healthy the whole year.”

The Nationals made it a priority to give Desmond and Espinosa as much playing time as they could, not only because they were their best option but also to give them more experience with the grind of the season. Even spot starts dried up for Cora, leading Manager Davey Johnson to actually apologize to Cora, he said.

“In the second half, it was a lot less,” Cora said. “He talked to me and explained to me. The focus kind of changed at one point in the season. I had no problem with that. He grabbed me and told me. He kind of like apologized about the way he was using me. You still got to show up and do your work and help the kids out. Hopefully, I helped them out.”



(washingtonpost.com)

WASHINGTON -- Third baseman Alex Cora left Washington's game against the Phillies on Wednesday after the fourth inning with stomach issues.
He was 0-for-1 with a walk before giving way to Jerry Hairston Jr.

Cora committed an error in the second inning, when he could not handle a Carlos Ruiz ground ball that led to Philadelphia's only run in a 2-1 Washington win.

"Alex was really under the weather," said manager Jim Riggleman. "If Alex Cora doesn't catch a ball then it doesn't get caught -- he's that good over there."

Cora also had a collision with Phillies slugger Ryan Howard in the second inning, when Cora went to apply the tag to Howard on his slide into second on a double. Howard's helmet hit Cora in the neck, and Cora appeared shaken up though he remained in the game until exiting two innings later.

Hairston had an injury scare of his own in the fifth, when he raced Wilson Valdez to third base for a force out. Hairston stepped on the bag as Valdez slid into it, and their feet tangled up, sending Hairston to the ground. Hairston remained in the game.



(mlb.com)

Alex Cora started at shortstop for the Nationals again on Wednesday. Ian Desmond was placed on the paternity leave list after his wife gave birth to the couple's first child Tuesday, so Cora will fill in for now.



Click here to order Devin Hester’s proCane Rookie Card.



(fantasysp.com)

NEW YORK -- Two stools were positioned against the railing just to the home-plate side of the visitors' dugout at Citi Field late Saturday afternoon, probably to be used by a television crew for interviews. As the Mets took batting practice, though, one of the stools was occupied by a man with a Nationals uniform, a Mets past and a promising future. Someday Alex Cora will be interviewed, just not yet.

Opposing managers occasionally take a pregame seat in the same area for the purposes of surveillance. They can monitor BP and try to pick up something about a player's swing or a limp, some weakness or flaw that can be exploited.

On this day, Cora was the monitor. He was in position to kibitz with former Mets mates and to see what he could see about them. It was high-tech espionage, but you never know.

Wayne Hagin, the Mets' announcer, happened by, renewed his acquaintance with Cora and said, "When he was managing, Roger Craig once told me never to stand in front of the manager when he's here, and since you're going to be a manager, I'll keep moving."

Hagin and a majority of folks in the game are sure Cora someday will assume the position of manager. When he's done serving as a middle infield understudy and tutor, Cora will move a few feet to the his left and to the top step of some dugout and probably do some team proud as a rookie skipper. He comes equipped for the job now, though the club that eventually will employ him undoubtedly will insist he serve an apprenticeship in the Minor Leagues.

The Mets became confident Cora was equipped when he spent the better part of the 2009 and '10 seasons on their roster. The Nationals have seen the potential, too. Indeed, Mike Rizzo, their GM, said this about that Saturday: "Alex still has a lot left in his tank as a player. But he has my number, and when he's done playing, he can make a call. It will be well-received."

For now, Cora is well-received as the team sage, a role he filled more than adequately for the Mets when others were unwilling or unequipped to do so.

"He and [Matt] Stairs run the place," Rizzo said.

It's called veteran presence.

"For a long time, I wanted him on my team," the general manager, in his third year as the man with two uppercase letters as his job title, said of Cora. "A left-handed bat who can play second, short and third, and almost as important, we have the two kids -- [Ian] Desmond at short and [Danny] Espinosa [at second] who can learn from him. We couldn't choose a better guy to mentor them.

"He had them both out on the half field [a full infield with a miniature outfield] every morning in Spring Training before anyone else got there. I didn't know about it for weeks. He does things like that. I think it comes natural to him to be a teacher."

Extra preparation never hurts. Cora has been preparing to manage for 35 years. Even last August, when the Mets released him, was preparation. A manager should know his players are experiencing. He should know what being released is.

"It's not enjoyable," he said. "But I can check that off the list now."

Before he signed with the Nationals, Cora was approached about managing -- in the Minor Leagues -- over the winter. The assignment with a team he preferred not to identity would have been Class A. He declined, telling the interested party, "I can still help your big league team."

And he could have managed in winter ball, but he opted to play with his hometown team, Caguas in Puerto Rico, after his older brother Joey advised him that managing in winter ball would change how big league clubs viewed him.

"You'll never play again," big brother Joey told him.

Joey Cora is the White Sox third-base coach, and he also is regarded as managerial material. He managed Caguas, and Alex played for him.
"He'd kind of take a day off once in a while," the younger Cora said, "and I'd manage."

The sage quality showed itself as Cora sat on the stool.

"The good teams get better as the season goes on," he said. "Look at the NBA, the Lakers won, what, 10 of 11 after the All-Star game? They've lost a few in a row now, but they made their statement. Look at Charlie Manuel's record in September with the Phillies. You need to get better as the season goes on. We will."

He sounded like a manager already.

Managers need to be tactful at times. So Cora practiced tact Saturday. Left unsaid or at least unexplored as he sat on the stool was how the Mets have fared late in recent seasons. He abided by "If you can say something nice about someone ... " and noted how much the absence of Carlos Beltran undermined the Mets.

He thinks like a manager, too.

Davey Johnson is one of Rizzo's advisors. The former Mets manager has been at Citi Field to witness the three-game series. Johnson was a second baseman and managed Cora with the Dodgers in 1999 and '00, when Cora was a plebe.

"I put him at shortstop and moved [incumbent shortstop Mark] Grudzielanek to second," Johnson said. "When he was still playing second, I noticed he was peaking [at the runner approaching first] while he was preparing to make the catch and transfer on double plays. I explained to why that wasn't a good thing to do.

"I heard him tell Espinosa the same thing 11 years later. That impressed me a lot. He learned and remembered."

Manager need good memories, too.



(mlb.com)

Former Los Angeles Dodger Alex Cora has sold his Pinecrest, Fla., home for $1,815,000.

The house features marble and bamboo floors, three en-suite bedrooms and a master suite with a balcony overlooking the backyard swimming pool and spa. The 5,770-square-foot house, built in 2006, has six bedrooms and 61/2 bathrooms including the maid's quarters.

Cora, 35, made his major league debut in 1998 for the Dodgers, and he played second base and shortstop during his seven years with the team. He has since played for the Cleveland Indians, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers.

Cora, currently on the Washington Nationals, bought the property in early 2008 for $1.9 million.

Corey Schwartz of Re/Max Advance Realty was the listing agent.



(latimes.com)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Nationals are close to naming Alex Cora one of their backup infielders for the start of the regular season, according to a baseball source. Cora, who signed a Minor League deal with the team, is having a great spring, having gone 7-for-17 (.412) with an RBI entering play on Tuesday.

But it is more than Cora's numbers that have impressed the Nationals. He has become one of the leaders in the clubhouse. For example, he is often spotted trying to help Nyjer Morgan with his bunting and giving the center fielder words of encouragement.

With Cora most likely on the roster, the Nationals may try to move infielder Alberto Gonzalez, who could be traded or designated for assignment because he is out of Minor League options. Manager Jim Riggleman often raves about the glove work of Gonzalez, who has been a reliable bench player the past few seasons even though he would prefer to play every day.

(mlb.com)

VIERA, Fla. -- The Nationals were doing bunting drills Thursday and the most interesting scene was watching center fielder Nyjer Morgan taking lessons from infielder Alex Cora, who told Morgan not to try to surprise the opponent with a bunt. The most important part is putting the ball in the right place for a hit.

"Everybody knows Nyjer is going to bunt. For him, I think placement is very important, [more] than hiding the bunt," Cora said.

Cora learned the art of bunting when he was with the Dodgers. He said he became an experienced bunter by listening to Dodgers Spring Training instructor Maury Wills.

"I came up through the Dodger organization, and we had the best teacher of them all," Cora said. "You can use Maury's knowledge and spread it around. For Nyjer, it will benefit him. I've seen him play the last two years in the National League. I played against him, and I can see his strengths and his weaknesses. I'm here. That's what you do as a teammate."

How did Morgan feel about getting bunting tips on Thursday? Morgan wishes he had Cora as a coach earlier in his career.

"Cora has been in the game a long time," Morgan said. "He understands what it takes to be a successful bunter. By listening to him, I understand what Maury Wills taught him. Alex passed it on to me a little bit. I'm glad Alex has that background to help out my game."

Morgan is hoping the tips from Cora can help him get on base often. Last year, Morgan had hit .253 and had an on-base percentage of .319.



(mlb.com)

The Nationals have signed Alex Cora to a minor league deal, an industry source has confirmed. The news was first reported by Peter Gammons of MLB Network.

Adding Cora could give the Nationals the backup infielder they were searching for after parting ways with Willie Harris following last season. The team was looking for another option that could play second base in case Danny Espinosa struggles in his rookie season.

Cora turned 35 in October, and there seems little doubt his best days are behind him. He hit .210/.266/.278 last season in 82 games with the Mets and Rangers, and hasn't posted an OPS above .700 since 2008 with the Red Sox. Still, he gives the Nationals a versatile infielder, and another player who has won a World Series ring - that's been a consistent theme behind Mike Rizzo's additions the last two years.

And of course, Cora's deal with the Nationals adds another Scott Boras client to their fold, including the third one they've signed this offseason. They have him, Espinosa, Ivan Rodriguez, Rick Ankiel, Alberto Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Jesus Flores and Jayson Werth. Cora, Ankiel and Werth have joined the team this offseason.



(masnsports.com)