Red Sox Turmoil May Offer Blue Jays Chance to Gain Ground
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Attention Residents of Toronto: The circus is coming to town.
Don't worry, Cirque Du Soleil will still be under The Big Top on Lake Shore Boulevard in June.
The Boston Red Sox visit Rogers Centre Monday through Wednesday. They are off to an even slower start than the Blue Jays at 11-17. And they travel north as a team in turmoil.
The Red Sox Spring Cleaning
After a 17-1 thumping of Baltimore on Saturday, the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and purged much of his coaching staff. The managerial firing was the earliest in a season since 2018, when the Reds fired Bryan Price after a 3-15 start.
But wait, there's more. Boston also parted ways with five of Cora's coaches. Franchise fixture Jason Varitek was 'reassigned' from his role as Game Coordinator and Run Prevention Coach.
In their place, the Red Sox named Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy as interim manager, appointed Double-A Portland Manager Chad Epperson as interim third base coach, and promoted Triple-A hitting coach Collin Hetzler to the Major League staff. They are scrambling to find a bench coach for Tracy for the series in Toronto.
Shocked. Shocked, I Tell You
To say the players were shocked would be an understatement. Most learned of the changes on social media Saturday evening. In a team meeting on Sunday morning, General Manager Craig Breslow spoke very briefly and did not take any questions. Veterans like Garrett Whitlock voiced their displeasure at essentially being told to shut up and throw.
Former Red Sox players weighed in, saying Cora was taking the fall for Breslow's poor roster construction. One even texted Red Sox reporter Rob Bradford, "It's like sh***ing your pants and changing your shirt."
They even bumbled the PR by having the fired coaches transported from the team hotel to the airport in a van with the coach/limo company's name on the side — Coaches4Hire.
Humongous PR mishap hiring this coach/limo company, obviously. https://t.co/BkMKZXYJEs
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 26, 2026
And then the Red Sox went out Sunday afternoon and beat the Orioles 5-3.
What It Means for the Blue Jays
The Red Sox are not coming to Canada in a good headspace.
Ace Garrett Crochet expressed guilt for the player's role in the firings.
Veteran Trevor Story voiced displeasure and openly questioned the team's direction.
On the field, while it is only a one-game sample, the Red Sox were more aggressive. They attempted five stolen bases on Sunday in Baltimore and were successful on four of them.
The more aggressive style of play was by design. Tracy specifically noted the team's young athletic roster will shape his managerial style.
And the Red Sox will need to manufacture runs. Boston comes into the series with Toronto tied for last in the Majors with 19 home runs and 28th in slugging percentage at .356. As a reference point for Blue Jays fans, in 2025, Myles Straw slugged .367.
Stopping the Red Sox running game, thus, could take on added importance for Toronto. Starting catcher Tyler Heineman has only caught two of 13 runners attempting to steal (15%). Backup Brandon Valenzuela has been more successful nabbing four of eight would-be basestealers.
The other significant change Tracy made in his first game as Boston's manager was to move Roman Anthony from the leadoff spot to third in the order. Jarren Duran, who excelled as a leadoff man in 2024, including 34 stolen bases, replaced Anthony as the leadoff man. That, too, may lead to more aggressiveness on the base paths.
And as Blue Jays fans know from their own longtime minor league skipper John Schneider taking over midseason in 2022 and leading Toronto to the playoffs, in-season managerial changes can sometimes be catalysts.
The Jays are Getting Healthier
In addition to potentially capitalizing on Boston's dysfunction, Toronto is on the mend.
The Blue Jays' horrendous injury luck has been the biggest story of the season to date. On Tuesday, Trey Yesavage makes his 2026 debut. The last time he was on a Major League mound, in Game 5 of the 2025 World Series, he held the Dodgers to one run in seven innings and struck out 12.
George Springer is also getting close to returning, likely sometime this week. Addison Barger is a couple of weeks behind.
The Pitching Matchups
The pitching matchups also fall in Toronto's favor, particularly avoiding Crochet.
On Monday, Dylan Cease faces off against Ranger Suarez. Cease enters the contest with a sparkling 2.10 ERA and is tied with Cleveland's Gavin Williams for the American League lead in strikeouts with 44.
Tuesday features a matchup of young guns with Yesavage, who still technically qualifies as a rookie, squaring off against Payton Tolle. Tolle had an impressive 2026 debut last week against the Yankees, striking out 11 in six innings, but he relies heavily on his fastball and is still developing offspeed pitches to keep hitters off the heater.
On Wednesday, Brayan Bello takes the hill for Boston. In his last outing, Bello yielded 13 hits and 5 home runs in 3 1/3 innings. The Orioles literally ran out of home run fireworks. Max Scherzer was scheduled to start for Toronto, but was placed on the injured list earlier today with right forearm tightness and left ankle inflammation. Ah, the joys of being in your 40s.
After the Red Sox series, Toronto travels to Minnesota. The reeling Twins have lost five straight and nine of their last ten.
The Blue Jays are getting healthier. The schedule is favorable.
April showers may well bring May flowers in Toronto this year.
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