Red Sox Rival Hires Massachusetts Native As New Manager

The Boston Red Sox will see a lot of a local baseball product starting in 2026.

The Baltimore Orioles announced the hiring of new manager Craig Albernaz on Monday. Born in Fall River, Mass., Albernaz went to Somerset Berkley Regional High School.

Albernaz spent the last two seasons as the Cleveland Guardians’ bench coach and associate manager. The 42-year-old takes over an Orioles squad that fired Brandon Hyde in May before finishing last in the American League East at 75-87.

“We are elated to welcome Craig Albernaz as the next manager of the Orioles and our leader on the field,” Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said, per MLB.com’s Jake Rill. “Craig has built an exemplary career across multiple successful organizations and brings a tremendous amount of experience, knowledge and talent to our organization and to this new challenge.

“We believe he is the right person at the right time to elevate our baseball operations and guide our team back to the playoffs and a World Series championship.”

Albernaz batted .199 in nine minor league seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers before transitioning to coaching. He managed in Tampa Bay’s farm system before working as a bullpen and catching coach for the San Francisco Giants from 2020 to 2023.

Promoted to Cleveland’s associate manager this season, Albernaz watched the Guardians make an improbable comeback to win the American League Central. The Tigers eliminated them in the Wild Card Series.

Albernaz will look to steer Baltimore back to contention in his first MLB managerial job. Although the Orioles fell well short of expectations in 2025, they still possess a promising young lineup led by Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Samuel Basallo.