The Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora have engaged in recent talks on a contract extension, and there is momentum toward a deal to end his lame-duck status and keep him in Boston for three years at a total of $21.75 million, sources told ESPN.

Cora, 48, has helped shepherd the Red Sox to a surprising 54-46 record. Boston entered Wednesday only one game behind the Kansas City Royals (56-46) for the final American League wild-card spot.

Cora’s deal is set to expire after this season, his sixth as Red Sox manager.

Coming off back-to-back 78-84 seasons and last-place finishes in the AL East, the Red Sox have thrived despite carrying their lowest Opening Day payroll in a decade at just over $170 million. The steady production of star third baseman Rafael Devers and emergence of center fielder Jarren Duran and starter Tanner Houck have thrust the Red Sox into the playoff picture, and with a core of young position players nearing the big leagues, Boston’s future is on the upswing.

Whether that future would include Cora is a question that has hung over the organization all season. Regarded as one of the game’s best managers, Cora has left Boston before — after he was fired prior to the 2020 season following the revelation of his prominent role in the Houston Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scheme.

Boston re-hired Cora in 2021, turning back to the manager who had won a World Series with the Red Sox in his first season as manager in 2018. The Red Sox made a surprising run to the ALCS in 2021 but has turned the team over almost entirely since then, and their two big free agent signings — shortstop Trevor Story and outfielder Masataka Yoshida — have been injured and disappointing, respectively.

If a deal is completed, it would keep Cora from hitting free agency a year after Craig Counsell’s contract with the Milwaukee Brewers expired and he joined the Chicago Cubs on a five-year, $40 million contract.