Red Sox Management Sends Strong Message After Alex Cora Firing

In the strange reality of how things are going for the Red Sox these days, Alex Cora was fired after a 17-1 win in Baltimore, which capped a week of consternation about the lack of productive offense in many places, including by me here on Lindy's.

It was highly noticeable when the Red Sox were easily swept aside by the Yankees, but the woes did not necessarily foreshadow Cora being fired at dinnertime on Saturday night in Baltimore.

Cora was not the only one asked to leave a team with a 10-17 record entering Sunday. Cora became the first Red Sox manager fired during a season since Jimy Williams was replaced by Joe Kerrigan after 118 games in the dysfunctional 2001 season.

Also told they were being fired were hitting coach Peter Fatse, third-base coach Kyle Hudson, bench coach Ramon Vazquez, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin.

Also reassigned was Jason Varitek, perhaps to avoid an ugly public perception of firing a team icon who caught the final out of the 2004 World Series and fought Alex Rodriguez on July 24, 2004.

Of those names, Vazquez is the most well-known since he was traded for Cora in 2005 and joined the coaching staff when Cora was initially hired for the 2018 season. Lawson was among Boston's multiple hitting coaches and can be added to the smallish list of coaches/managers to get fired by the Yankees and Red Sox.

Sam Kennedy says yesterday was "painful but necessary" as they pursue a fresh start for 2026. "Ultimately, what matters is the performance on the field. A new beginning starts today."



Kennedy said decision made Sat morning.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 26, 2026

How did the front office explain firing Cora?

According to team president Sam Kennedy, the decision was made Saturday morning, and management flew to Baltimore to discuss this with Cora after making a collaborative decision to change the manager.

According to Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, firing Cora was a reflection of the belief in the roster they envisioned could make a deep postseason run.

Breslow also said "finding a solution" was warranted and felt decisive action was needed. He also declined to cite anything specific Cora was doing, other than the generic "new direction and new voices" line, which frequently gets heard in any sport when a coach or manager is fired.

"Ultimately, this is the big leagues, and this is a results-oriented business, and we need to win more games," Breslow said. "We need to perform."

And when the Red Sox did not perform, Cora and others took the fall.

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Who is Cora's replacement?

Chad Tracy was promoted from Triple-A Worcester to replace Cora after managing there since the 2022 season.

In his tenure in Worcester, Tracy managed current players Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Brayan Bello, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Connor Wong and Zack Kelly. He also managed injured players Kutter Crawford, Tristan Casas and Tanner Houck along with Kristian Campbell, who was given a $60 million, eight-year contract on April 2, 2025.

Breslow cited familiarity with some of the younger players the Red Sox are counting on, played a role in promoting Tracy. Or if familiarity did not play a role, the Red Sox made the easy promotion after failing to secure a veteran manager on short notice.

Either way, Tracy is getting his first real crack at managing and may be more in line with Breslow, a former player who happened to pitch in the Ivy League and is getting some heat from fans in a similar fashion New York fans have the pitchforks out for David Stearns and the Mets.

Summing up the Cora years

Cora was hired after spending time as the bench coach for the 2017 Astros. His role in the sign stealing signal was not revealed until after the 2019 season and he missed the 2020 pandemic season when a bunch of random names won 24 of 60 games.

Cora played for the 2007 title team and managed the team's most recent title team in 2018. Since then, things have steadily declined due to financial reasons and other factors.

After the follow up to 2018 was a frustrating 84-win campaign in 2019, the Red Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers. While it is unknown if Betts would have inked a long-term contract, the Red Sox made the move with a smaller market of mentality because they felt he would not sign.

The return was mostly disastrous, and the biggest name obtained for Betts was Alex Verdugo. Verdugo gave a respectable performance in 2021 by hitting .289 but was traded to the Yankees in Dec. 2023 and famously made the last out of the 2024 World Series by flailing at a pitch by Walker Buehler.

The Red Sox made a fun run to the postseason in 2021 by upsetting the 100-win Rays in the Division Series and getting to the ALCS. After three non-descript seasons of 78 to 81 wins, the front office got aggressive acquiring Garrett Crochet and signing Alex Bregman.

Signing Bregman moved Rafael Devers off third base. It also triggered his trade to the Giants for a lackluster return, and the move was also made worse when the Red Sox did not retrain Bregman, who signed with the Cubs at the same time as the Bears scored a touchdown in a playoff game against the Rams.

With Bregman, the Red Sox emerged from a middling start and reached the playoffs. After Crochet's 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 in the opener of the wild-card series, the lack of offense and pitching depth was noticeable and the Red Sox went down quietly in Game 3 by striking out 12 times in eight innings against Northeastern alum Cam Schlittler.

Cora was not necessarily on a hot seat list of managers and management seemingly made the tough decision, while praising the third manager to lead the team to a World Series title after 29 managers could not get it done from 1919 through 2003.

"Alex will go down as one of the best managers in Red Sox history," Kennedy said. Incredible track record. As I said at the outset, he leaves a great legacy in Boston and we're very grateful for it."

Related: Red Sox Fire Alex Cora in Major Shake-Up After Sluggish Start

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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 12:04 PM.