Future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona will come out of retirement to manage the Cincinnati Reds, agreeing to a deal with the team a year after retiring after 23 seasons, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The 65-year-old Francona takes over a young, talented Reds team one year after leaving the Cleveland Guardians, which he had coached for the past 11 seasons. Francona won nearly 55% of his games with Cleveland after winning two World Series as manager of the Boston Red Sox, including the 2004 season that ended an 86-year title drought.

Concerns over Francona’s health caused him to miss time in recent years and led to questions about whether he wanted to continue despite the success. When Francona resigned from the Guardians on October 3, 2023, he said: “I need to go home and get healthy and see what I miss about the game. I don’t think I can do it again.”

On October 3, 2024, he promised to return to the other side of the state with a team that underperformed this season. After a surprising 82-80 finish in 2023, the Reds overcame injuries to finish 77-85. They fired manager David Bell less than a year after giving him a contract extension and will hand the reins of a strong up-and-coming group to Francona, whose hiring was first reported by MLB.com.

Shortstop Elly De La Cruz is a 22-year-old star, and with Matt McLain expected back next season and a group of young position players that includes Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson, Jonathan India, Noelvi Marte and Christian Encarnacion-Strand include, there is a lot of potential for the Reds’ lineup. The same goes for the pitching staff led by Hunter Greene, supplemented by Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and rookie Rhett Lowder.

With 1,950 career victories, including 285 in his first job in Philadelphia more than a quarter century ago, Francona will win his 2,009th. Victory likely to overtake Leo Durocher for 12th place on the all-time manager list. If the Reds have the kind of season Francona hopes to give them, he could overtake Walter Alston, who is 11th with 2,040 wins.

An announcement about Francona’s hiring could come as early as this week.