Terry Francona to interview with Cleveland Indians

• Terry Francona is expected to talk to the Cleveland Indians this week
• Francona and Sandy Alomar Jr. are the only publicly identified candidates thus far
• The Indians fired Manny Acta with six games remaining after a second-half collapse

Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona will interview for the Cleveland Indians' vacancy, the team announced.

According to multiple reports, Francona will interview next week with the Indians, who fired Manny Acta with six games remaining after a second-half slide that saw the team fall from contention.

Francona and interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. are the only candidates the team has publicly identified. General manager Chris Antonelli said the team would not reveal the names of other candidates at this point.

Francona and Antonelli are longtime friends and Francona served as a special assistant to current team president Mark Shapiro in 2001 when Shapiro was the Indians' general manager. Francona also played briefly for the Indians in 1988.

"I wouldn't come in an interview if I wasn't interested," Francona told MLB.com.

"They have some things to get in order. I know Sandy Alomar is also a candidate and I'm sure they'll be doing their homework."

He won two World Series with the Red Sox, but his contract was not extended at the end of last season amid the team's well-publicized collapse. He has spent this season as an analyst for ESPN. Speculation is the Indians might not want to spend what it could cost to lure Francona.

Alomar was with the Indians from 1990 to 2000 as a player, and served as first-base coach last season and bench coach this season for Acta. He has no previous managerial experience.

The Indians went 5-24 in August, the worst month in franchise history and were 21-50 in the second half when Acta was fired.