Red Sox manager Alex Cora sends Twitter into a frenzy with cryptic message

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora sent a cryptic tweet containing only symbols that had fans wondering if it relates to J.D. Martinez.

Alex Cora, you have our attention. The manager for the Boston Red Sox sent fans into a frenzy Monday morning with a simple two-character tweet.

Question mark. Exclamation mark. Two symbols that represent different emotions. Were they meant to indicate that Cora if feeling shocked, surprised, excited, angry, or ecstatic? We don’t know since he’s yet to provide a follow-up.

While a cryptic message like this can usually be brushed off as meaningless, the timing of the tweet leaves Red Sox fans wondering if the message is in response to a pivotal decision that may shape the future of the franchise.

Today is the deadline for J.D. Martinez to decide if he’ll opt-out of his contract. He has $62.5 million remaining on his deal over the next three seasons with an opt-out clause he can trigger prior to any of those seasons. He has until the end of the day to let the Red Sox know if he intends to test the market or push the decision until next year.

If Martinez doesn’t opt-out, he’ll be owed $23.75 million in 2020. With the Red Sox intent on slashing payroll to dip under the $208 million luxury tax payroll, keeping Martinez on the books would mean sacrificing from other areas of the roster. The budget will still be tight if he leaves but they at least would have some flexibility.

How the Red Sox approach the offseason hinges on Martinez’s decision. Fans have been scouring social media seeking any tiny crumb of information that may hint at an update. So, when the manager sends out a message that is open to interpretation, to say the least, naturally it’s going set off a firestorm in response.

We obviously have no idea if Cora’s tweet has anything to do with Martinez but it’s clear that many are assuming it does.

Some of us need answers that Cora can provide under the assumption that he knows something that we don’t.

If the tweet was related to Martinez, what could it mean? Probably nothing good. It could be interpreted as the manager being surprised, baffled or upset about losing one of his best players. I’m puzzled as to what the question mark means if it were good news.

Perhaps Cora is in the dark about Martinez’s decision just like the rest of us. Maybe that’s all his tweet was meant to say.

Or, again, it could have nothing to do with Martinez or the Red Sox. The man does have a life outside of this franchise that he’s free to express his thoughts about. Even if those thoughts are merely symbols.

We should know whether or not Martinez is going to opt-out by the end of the day, at which point all of us will have something to say. It will probably be more than two characters but it may very well end with a question mark, exclamation mark or both.