Red Sox Players Had No Say in Alex Cora's Firing: Report
The Boston Red Sox are in free fall on April 26.
The 2026 MLB season started on March 26.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora, as well as five other coaches on his staff, after the Red Sox won 17-1 in Baltimore to improve to a still-dismal 10-17 on the year.
Chad Tracy will take over as the interim manager, and second-year outfielder Roman Anthony gave Tracy a vote of confidence while speaking with reporters Sunday.
“Shocking, right?” Anthony said of Cora’s firing. “Didn’t expect it, but now, you just kind of adapt and overcome. [Tracy] is gonna be great.”
There’s more where that came from.
The Boston Globe’s Red Sox beat writer, Tim Healey, posted on X: “Players were not invited to ask the bosses questions about Alex Cora’s firing and the situation.”
Healey quoted relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock as saying, “They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball.”
Shortstop Trevor Story expressed that Cora and his coaching staff “didn’t get a fair shot,” per The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum, and took a shot at Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow: “If this shows us anything, it’s we’re here to play baseball, and that's it. We don't make decisions. We don't have any input on that.”
Story also confirmed that players were not consulted before the rash move to fire Cora and wished they had been.
“Over and over again, players described a clubhouse in shock,” Nusbaum wrote. “They also expressed confidence in Tracy, and largely expressed confidence in the player group, though Story said, ‘It’s kind of up in the air what the true direction of the franchise is.'”
Red Sox president Sam Kennedy told reporters that Breslow made the call to fire Cora and overhaul the coaching staff.
An unnamed former Red Sox player who is still active with another team texted Boston Herald Red Sox reporter Gabrielle Starr, as relayed by Starr on X, “Just no accountability on [Breslow’s] part. Fires everyone but his pitching coaches? Seven coaches?! He should fire himself.”
Around MLB Opening Day last month, independent sports journalist Joon Lee put longtime Red Sox owner John Henry under the microscope while investigating the larger impact private equity is having in sports for More Perfect Union:
While the Red Sox scramble to pick up the pieces, Cora simply posted on X, “Happy! [smiley face emoji].”
The Red Sox hired Cora, then the Houston Astros’ bench coach, as their new manager in October 2017. Cora’s first season in charge resulted in winning the 2018 World Series, Boston’s first since 2013.
The issue is that the Red Sox have only made the playoffs twice in the seven seasons since. Boston lost 4-2 to Houston in the 2021 American League Championship Series and lost 2-1 to the New York Yankees in the AL wild card last year.
Overall, Cora departed with a 620-541 (.534) record across seven full seasons and the first month of this season.
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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 2:07 PM.