During the course of his time with the Boston Red Sox, Alex Cora quickly established himself as one of the best managers in all of baseball. So, even when the team struggled, blame rarely fell on his shoulders.
Then, when the team started slow in 2026, the other shoe finally dropped. Cora and several other staff members were fired at the end of April. With that, he finished his time with the Red Sox with a record of 620-541 in the regular season and 18-10 in the postseason. He also won the 2018 World Series and delivered the best single-season record in franchise history. Cora is also third in Red Sox history in wins as a manager.
Around MLB, there was an expectation that Cora would quickly be able to land a job. The Philadelphia Phillies even tried to make that happen, offering him their managerial job twice, being turned down twice. Now, as Cora explained on Baseball Isn’t Boring, he may be ready to step away from baseball for a while.
“I’m not 100% sure I want to do it,” Alex Cora said. “I love baseball. I do. I love my boys, but I love coaching other kids.”
Cora also praised both World Series teams, the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, for their cultures. If he were to come back, he’d want that kind of culture. In the meantime, though, he’s happy to spend time with his family while still being paid by the Red Sox.
Alex Cora on Why the Boston Red Sox Fired Him in 2026
It was a slow start to the season for the Red Sox. At 10-17, the Red Sox were a major disappointment and CBO Craig Breslow was firmly on the hot seat. However, he made the move to move on from Cora and several other staff members early.
The hope behind that move was to spark the team. To some extent, it eventually worked. By the summer, the Red Sox found a way to become the hottest team in all of baseball. They were able to ride that to a Wild Card spot and another massively disappointing playoff finish.
Today, Alex Cora has had time to look back on what was going wrong in April. For him, it goes back to the pitching.
“Honestly, I feel like I got fired because we didn’t pitch in the month of April,” Cora said on Baseball Isn’t Boring. “As simple as that.”
That, of course, will do nothing to dispel rumors of infighting between Cora and Breslow. Pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who wasn’t fired, was Breslow’s guy. Hitting coach Pete Fatse, who was Cora’s guy, was among the fired coaches. Both pitching and hitting were real issues during that stretch, but Cora pointed to the pitching specifically.
Cora Has a Major Regret About His Firing
In that same interview on Baseball Isn’t Boring, Cora did admit that he has a regret about his firing from the Red Sox. That’s how he acted on social media, where he posted several times, implying that he was happy to part ways with the team.
“Yeah, probably acted immature for a little bit there,” 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?”
That being said, Cora also insisted that he’s continued to root for the Red Sox. He likes the people and players within the organization too much not to want them to succeed.
“At the end, you really care. You care about the organization. You care about those boys getting a ring,” Cora said.
Ex-Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Shares Thoughts on His Future in Baseball