Trevor Story, Red Sox Players Rip Front Office for Firing Alex Cora, Coaches

Craig Breslow addressed the players in the clubhouse before Sunday’s series finale—and it did not go well.

Story is in his fifth season with the Red Sox since he signed a six-year deal in 2022. | Finn Gomez/The Boston Globe

Trevor Story and a few outspoken Red Sox players are not aligned with the front office’s decision to fire Alex Cora and multiple coaches on Saturday.

One day after firing Cora and five members of his coaching staff, general manager Craig Breslow addressed the players in the clubhouse before Sunday’s series finale against the Orioles—and it did not go well. According to the Boston Globe’s Tim Healy, owner John Henry and president Sam Kennedy did not speak to the players. Breslow addressed the team for about two minutes, and interim manager Chad Tracy spoke for about three to five minutes. The players were not invited to ask questions about the decision to fire Cora.

“They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball,” reliever Garrett Whitlock said of the pregame chat [via Healy].

Story said the explanation from Breslow was not satisfactory and he plans to clear the air with him later.

“It’s up in the air what the true direction of the franchise is,” Story said.

Following Boston’s 17–1 win over the Orioles on Saturday, the Red Sox fired the skipper Cora along with five coaches—hitting coach Peter Fatse, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, bench coach Rámon Vazquez, third base coach Kyle Hudson and hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin. Jason Varitek, a franchise legend and game planning coach, has been “reassigned” to a new role in the organization.

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“Some of the best coaches in the world didn’t get a fair shot,” Story said.

In a rather humorous PR gaffe, the Red Sox sent a van to pick up Cora and the fired coaches after the game. The transportation company they chose is called Coaches4Hire, LLC.

The van taking the fired Red Sox coaches away. pic.twitter.com/oe6chzwIVf

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 26, 2026

Entering Sunday’s slate of games, Boston is 10–17—in last place in the AL East—and ranks 22nd in runs scored and 28th in OPS (.667).

Cora has been the Red Sox’ manager since 2018—aside from the 2020 campaign when he served a suspension. Over those seven-plus seasons, Cora logged a 620–541 record. He led Boston to a 2018 World Series win in his first year at the helm, but the Red Sox have made just two playoff appearances since.

Red Sox’ front office explains decision to fire Alex Cora

Although Kennedy did not address the players on Sunday, he did speak to the media in a press conference to expand on the team’s decision to part ways with Cora.

Kennedy described the move as a “bold” decision that was steered by Breslow.

"Yesterday was definitely painful, but we felt it was a necessary move, and we felt it necessary to take decisive action to achieve the goal of a fresh start for the 2026 season," Kennedy said. "We have full confidence in the players in that room to perform at the very highest level and get us back to playing baseball in October, which is the goal. Ultimately, what matters is the performance on the field at the major league level, and a new beginning starts today."

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In Cora’s place, the Red Sox are turning to Chad Tracy to serve as their interim manager. Tracy has been the manager of the Triple A Worchester Red Sox since the 2022 season.

“By acting today, it gives us 135 games ahead of us,” Breslow said. “We've got almost a full season's worth of run to take advantage of this fresh start and ultimately to compete for a division and deep postseason run in the way that we talked about it and envisioned and believed heading into spring training.”

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