The Boston Red Sox had a very long 2026 season, which acted like a rollercoaster at times. It was such an up and down season that now, in hindsight, it cane be easy to forget that Alex Cora started out as the team’s manager.
Amid a putrid start, CBO Craig Breslow made the decision to fire Cora, along with several staff members late in April. At the time, it was seen as a move to try and put blame on someone other than himself. It also quickly became evident that there had been tension internally with the Red Sox.
Part of that obvious tension came from how Cora and the other Red Sox coaches publicly acted online. That included a photo with the fired coaches, seemingly happy to be moving on. On Twitter/X, he simply posted, “Happy!” with a smiling emoji.
Now, with some time to reflect, Cora knows he was being a bit immature. He laughed about it on Baseball Isn’t Boring.
“Yeah, probably acted immature for a little bit there,” Alex Cora said. “Who knows? When I got fired, you know, made some comments that probably I didn’t have to make or posted sh*t that I have to regret. Take that away, man. Somebody should say, ‘Take the phone away from this kid.’ You know?”
Cora also added that he still wants to see the Red Sox succeed. That’s because he cares about both the players and the employees working within the organization.
“At the end, you really care. You care about the organization. You care about those boys getting a ring,” Cora said.
Former Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Turned Down the Philadelphia Phillies
Even with his less than mature exit from the Red Sox, Cora is still one of the best-respected managers in baseball. As such, he’s had interest from around baseball. In particular, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Almost immediately after Cora was fired by the Red Sox, the Phillies fired Rob Thomson and offered Cora their job. He turned it down to reset over the summer, though.
The fit makes sense. Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations, was with the Red Sox in 2018 for the World Series. He knows he likes working with Cora, and the Phillies are still pushing for deep playoff runs.
So, once the offseason hit, it wasn’t a surprise when the Phillies offered Cora again. However, he turned them down for a second time. Again, he can continue to sit back and relax while the Red Sox keep paying him.
The Red Sox Now Turn to Chad Tracy
As for the Red Sox, their future appears to be set at manager. To replace Cora, they brought up Triple-A manager Chad Tracy. He held the interim tag for most of the season, including the excellent mid-summer run that would land the Red Sox back in the postseason.
Ahead of the Wild Card Round of the postseason, the Red Sox removed the interim tag from Tracy. It’s his job, and Breslow has a manager he should be on the same page with going forward.
There’s still plenty for Tracy to prove. Most notably, that he can win in the postseason and that their run over the summer wasn’t a fluke.
Ex-Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Shares Major Regret About Firing