It’s now been about a month since the Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and six of his coaches. It was a move that was placed firmly on the shoulders of CBO Craig Breslow, and it’s likely to define his legacy, right or wrong, in Boston.
At the time of the firings, the Red Sox were just 10-17, and a year removed from making the playoffs, there was tension brewing in Boston. In particular, fans were frustrated with what they saw as a letdown in the offseason. Insisting a change needed to be made, but that the Red Sox were still in the playoff hunt, Breslow looked to make a change.
But what actually did change for the Red Sox? Not much. Since then, the Red Sox are just 12-14, having lost six of eight full series since the firing.
“I certainly wouldn’t look back at our win-loss record over the last month and say it was this incredible success,” Breslow told The Athletic. “But I think we’re starting to more consistently put together good at-bats. Definitely going into the series with Minnesota, we had pitched consistently well and played good defense. We have to put all aspects of the game together to make sure we’re winning more games.”
The Red Sox are currently 12.5 games off the pace in the AL East, sitting at 12.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The Wild Card, on the other hand, is shockingly within reach. Boston is 4.0 games out there, though just about every team in the AL has a shot at that still.
“The reality is we have a hole to dig out of,” Breslow said. “I think the thing we can do is focus day to day on doing everything possible to go out and win a game. We’re not going to make up eight games under .500 overnight, we’re not going to become the best offense in baseball overnight.”
Craig Breslow Believes the Boston Red Sox Have Improved on Offense
The major concern for the Boston Red Sox this season hasn’t been the pitching or defense. Instead, it’s been the offense, which Craig Breslow does believe has improved since firing Alex Cora and hitting coach Pete Fatse, among the other assistants.
“I think the quality of the at-bats, particularly against fastballs, has really improved over the last month and that’s been a focal point,” Breslow said. “Also making sure we’re swinging at pitches over the heart of the plate, we’re not chasing, so some of those things are trending in the right direction, certainly still work to be done.”
It’s debatable if the Red Sox offense has actually improved. Since the Cora firing, Boston has actually scored 18% fewer runs. The biggest issue has been runners in scoring position. The Red Sox rank 30th in wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus, measuring overall offensive production) both when runners are on base and in scoring position since the coaching change. That has them at a 68 wRC+ with runners on base and 65 wRC+ in scoring position.
At the same time, since the coaching change, the Red Sox are 7th in team batting average, at . 248 for the last month. They’re also fifth in OPS over the last seven games. The problem is just consistently scoring those runs.
Even at Fenway Park, a notoriously hitter-friendly park, the Red Sox can’t consistently play well. Bob Nightengale broke down those struggles on social media.
“The Boston Red Sox are 8-18 at Fenway Park, and are on pace to go 25-56 at home,” Nightengale wrote. “The last time they played a full season with fewer than 30 victories at home was in 1932 when they were 24-47 at Fenway Park and 3-3 at Boston Braves Field in a 154-game season.”
The Trade Deadline is a Major Question for the Red Sox, Breslow
The question for the Red Sox and Craig Breslow is whether or not they should try to improve the team and make a playoff run, given the Wild Card being within reach, or blow it up at the trade deadline?
It’s a bit of a loaded question. Breslow fired Cora on the basis that the Red Sox would compete this season. He’s the one on the hot seat, and blowing it up would be admitting failure in 2026. It could easily get him fired. At the same time, this Red Sox team is realistically not turning into an actual contender, even with new additions.
Still, Breslow has made it clear that he’s looking for ways to improve the team. That includes, as it was recently reported, for a right-handed bat.
“Another way (to improve) is additions from outside the organization, and we’re having conversations every day about those,” Breslow said. “At the same time, I think there are a bunch of other teams that see themselves in a similar position, where they’re probably underperforming relative to where they thought they would be in a league that is pretty compressed and not looking to give up on 2026 just yet, which makes it a lot harder to line up on trades.”
At the same time, there are also reports that teams are already interested in key Red Sox trade pieces, like Aroldis Chapman. So, Breslow will need to decide what the plan is moving forward soon.
Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow Opens Up About Alex Cora Firing, Direction of Team