(Reuters) - Terry Francona has been appointed as the new manager of the Cleveland Indians, it was announced on Saturday.

Major League Baseball's official website (mlb.com) said the club had confirmed the appointment but would not make any further comment until Francona was formally introduced on Monday.

Francona will take over from Sandy Alomar Jr, who had been acting as interim manager after Manny Acta was sacked last week when the Indians failed to make the playoffs.

Alomar was offered a job as an assistant to Francona, according to the report, after he applied unsuccessfully for the manager's position.

Francona, 53, managed the Phillies between 1997 and 2000 then the Boston Red Sox from 2004-11 and spent a season with the Indians when he was a player in the majors.

He won World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007 before leaving last year to work as a television analyst.

(Reporting by Julian Linden in New York; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)