David Hamilton’s Play Surprisingly Raised Questions About Red Sox Coaching Staff

With each passing day, more and more has come out about the Boston Red Sox's decision to fire former manager Alex Cora.

It's been a wild few days. Boston was blown out by the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, 10-3. The Red Sox followed up with a lopsided win of their own on Saturday, 17-1. You'd think back-to-back blowout games would be enough excitement for one weekend. Obviously, that wasn't the case. Boston fired Cora on Saturday night and everything since then has been about the fallout of the decision and putting all the pieces together.

Cora was well-liked across Boston. He did the job well for years, despite plenty of turnover and fluctuations in the club's philosophy on the payroll. The roster-building strategy is much different in the year 2026 than it was back in 2018 when Cora won a World Series leading the club, for example.

On Monday, CBS Sports' Julian McWilliams shared a column in which he pulled the curtain back a bit on why the Red Sox opted to move on from Cora. There were various reasons, but one that stood out was the fact that McWilliams mentioned David Hamilton's performance against Boston as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers as something that gave the front office pause about the coaching staff's developmental process as a whole.

More And More Details Keep Coming Out About Alex Cora's Firing

Feb 22, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) looks on during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

"The front office was bullish on former Red Sox infielder David Hamilton during his time with the club, believing his speed, defensive versatility, overall athleticism and underlying metrics made him a clear asset," McWilliams wrote. "Perhaps even more so than [Trevor Story], a former All-Star in the latter stages of his career. ...

"The front office, though still confident in Hamilton, traded him to the Brewers during the offseason. When he returned this month and played well against the Red Sox, the front office again began questioning the coaching staff's developmental process with younger players. 'Why do a lot of players go to other places and get better?' one source said of the questions being asked. "Why do other guys come here and get worse?'"

This is a bit surprising. Hamilton went 2-for-6 against Boston with one RBI and two walks. Overall, he has fine over in Milwaukee. He has played in 22 games and is slashing .234/.355/.250 with five RBIs, five stolen bases, 11 walks and 12 runs scored. Defensively, he's in the 41st percentile in outs above average. Right now, he has a .605 OPS, which is just 15 points over his .590 OPS in 91 games last year for Boston. The year before, he had a .697 OPS in Boston in 98 games played.

Boston traded Hamilton in the deal to bring Caleb Durbin to town this past offseason. There were rumors all over the place about various guys the club could bring in. Durbin was not a hot name in trade rumors, like Ketel Marte or Isaac Paredes. The front office opted to trade him and he really hasn't been that much different over in Milwaukee to kick off the season. Kyle Harrison has been great over in Milwaukee. If this concept were about Harrison, it would make a little more sense. But, with Hamilton, not as much.

At the end of the day, a lot seemingly went into this decision to fire Cora. The Red Sox are betting big on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

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