Sam Kennedy on Red Sox Firing Alex Cora: 'Difficult Day'

It was a transformational day for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Despite a win over the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox cleared house out of seemingly nowhere on Saturday and fired manager Alex Cora, hitting coach Peter Fatse, third base coach Kyle Hudson, bench coach Ramón Vázquez, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin.

Boston will turn to former Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy in the meantime as the club's interim manager.

Cora's career managing the Red Sox ends after eight seasons and one World Series win. Right now, the sudden firing is going to be what gets the most buzz, and rightfully so. Soon enough, all that will be remembered will be the club's magical 2018 season in which Boston went 108-54 in Cora's first year managing the club and won the World Series. Now, his time with the organization is ending for the time being.

The Red Sox CEO Opened Up

Sep 26, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox president and chief executive officer Sam Kennedy (left) and Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Warner (right) celebrate clinching a playoff spot after their game against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Boston will hold a press conference on Sunday morning to discuss the move. Beforehand, Red Sox president and chief executive officer Sam Kennedy shared a brief comment about the move on Saturday night, as transcribed by MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.

"Incredibly difficult day," Kennedy said, as transcribed by Cotillo. "We'll discuss more tomorrow. Grateful to Alex for everything he has done for the organization and all the guys. We're gonna move forward tomorrow."

The dust is still settling and it will take some time for the full impact of Saturday's moves to be understood. Boston completely overhauled the coaching staff. This isn't just a manager being fired. This is Boston ripping out pretty much every part of the coaching staff, outside of the pitching apparatus.

This is a philosophy shift for a team that struggled to begin the 2026 season. Last season, the Red Sox won 89 games. Beforehand, the Red Sox struggled for a few years in a row. But, is that Cora's fault? Arguably not. It's no secret that the Red Sox's spending habits have changed in recent memory. While the Red Sox were busy this past offseason and added pieces, they didn't bring Alex Bregman back. Boston entered the offseason and publicly talked about needing power. The club brought Willson Contreras in, but let Bregman walk.

The Red Sox brought Caleb Durbin in, who hit 11 homers in 2025. The Red Sox knew there was a power problem and didn't address it. There was a power problem even with Bregman on the roster. Essentially, Boston replaced his power with Contreras, but didn't add more. How could any offense expect to be better when the club didn't address the biggest issue it publicly talked about having?

It was a surprising day for the Red Sox on Saturday, to say the least.

Add us as a preferred source on Google