There are so many things to unpack here. Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow is confirmed to have led the process in firing manager Alex Cora, along with five other coaches: hitting coach Peter Fatse, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin, bench coach Ramon Vazquez, and third base coach Kyle Hudson. The team's game-planning and run prevention coach, Jason Varitek, will be reassigned to another role within the organization.
No matter where you throw the dart, the Red Sox have been absolutely horrific to start the 2026 campaign. A team that was supposed to have, at best, the talent to be a World Series contender given the rotation alone, featuring Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Connelly Early, Brayan Bello, and now Payton Tolle, has gone up in smoke. They have no power source in their lineup, being tied with the San Francisco Giants for dead last in team home runs. With a mere 10-17 record, everything was going in the wrong direction, and something had to be done.
While Polarizing, Firing Alex Cora Shouldn't be Boston's Last Major Move
Firing Cora, who is considered to be one of the best managers in the game today, was polarizing, to say the least. To some, Cora wasn't the problem. He was Breslow's scapegoat to deflect blame within the organization. But to others, firing him was the right call. He was trying to shuffle playing time with so many players in Boston's outfield logjam, that it cost them momentum and any chance of consistent play. Cora also had obsessions with the likes of Greg Weissert or Ryan Brasier, who have single-handedly cost the team wins in more ways than one.
It was terrible to see the last part of the 2018 World Series Championship core leave. It's even sadder when you realize that it's been almost ten years since that triumph. A lot has changed since then, and the fanbase is as unhappy as ever.
After firing Cora, the Red Sox appointed Triple-A manager Chad Tracy as their interim manager. It won't guarantee Tracy any success in Boston; he is the one who coached and helped develop all the young players currently on the roster, such as Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and many others.
Now, with no one left to blame, Breslow is firmly in the hot seat. The move has already caused tension in the locker room, leaving both de facto team leaders, Garrett Whitlock and Trevor Story, unhappy with the front office's approach towards the situation.
Sounds a little too familiar, right? That's not a pattern, that's a trend.
For starters, players weren't invited to ask the higher-ups any questions about their now-former manager's firing, per Tim Healey from the Boston Globe. In the meeting with the players on Sunday morning, however, Breslow was the only person present alongside Tracy. There was no Sam Kennedy or a John Henry in sight. Breslow spoke for two minutes while Tracy stayed, meeting with the players for an additional five minutes
"They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball," Whitlock said, via Healey.
As for Story, he was even less happy with the situation and is planning on having more talks with Breslow on Sunday.
"Some of the best coaches didn't get a fair shot," Story said. "It’s up in the air what the true direction of the franchise is."
The circle of Red Sox life...at least since the start of Breslow's tenure.
It's been a cycle with Breslow, thus far. He doesn't take care of the outfield logjam; he adds to the team by creating holes in different spots, leaving players beyond peeved by the beginning of the season.
Do you know what comes next? Trades of players who disagree with his philosophy, and Story will be the next on those purged if he's not careful.
He may not have flat-out said that he led the firing squad to Cora's front yard, but Kennedy had no problem throwing him under the bus in today's press conference.
If the Red Sox don't make the playoffs this year, Breslow may have just lost his job. He's the one who let Bregman walk. He's the one who didn't sign Pete Alonso. He's the one who didn't fix the offensive imbalance after losing Bregman.
The pitching has been great, but the Red Sox offense has become the 2021 Milwaukee Brewers, which is the worst-case scenario to be in if they're a playoff contender. It's all his fault, and he needs to start owning up to the situation more if anything is going to change.
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