Red Sox's Most Embarrassing Misstep in Alex Cora Saga Is Clear

A lot is objectionable, but this is the worst part

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks with the media at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The aftermath of the Boston Red Sox's sweeping coaching changes is still unraveling, but there's been one clear worst moment on the part of ownership and the front office.

According to a Sunday report from Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Red Sox leadership present for a meeting to discuss the firing of Alex Cora and most of his top assistants did not allow players to ask questions about the moves.

“They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball," said pitcher Garrett Whitlock, per Healey.

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Red Sox look awful for shutting down questions from players

Apr 20, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora signs a hat for a fan prior to a game against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

According to Healey's report, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow only addressed the team for about two minutes, before interim manager Chad Tracy took over and spoke for a bit longer. Tracy was someone with whom most of the players present weren't very familiar, and who certainly wasn't involved with the decision to fire Cora.

Principal owner John Henry and CEO Sam Kennedy did not speak in the meeting, per Healey.

It should be fairly obvious why not soliciting feedback from players was a bad idea, but clearly, it's worth discussing in more detail, because the Red Sox's brain trust didn't agree. Whether that was because they didn't think it was appropriate or were nervous about that the players might say is another discussion.

Cora had been involved with the major league club longer than any of the current players, and for many, he was more than just a manager. Many of the club's young Spanish-speaking players were grateful for his bilingual abilities, and he seemed to be a vital influence for Jarren Duran and Trevor Story, who were two of his appointed clubhouse leaders.

But most of all, this part of the saga reinforces the widely spread notion that Breslow has no feel. As a former 13-year big-league reliever, part of his selling point was that he would be a great communicator. The opposite seems to be the case, and now there's a clubhouse of confused, possibly angry players who still have over 80% of a season to go.