Breaking News: Red Sox and Alex Cora part ways after MLB’s findings

It was just announced that the Boston Red Sox and Alex Cora have decided to part ways in the wake of the MLB’s findings in the Astros’ sign-stealing case.

News just broke that the Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora have decided to separate. With MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred dropping the hammer on the Houston Astros yesterday it was just a matter of time before Cora was reprimanded. In the meantime it felt like Boston may wait for his punishment before making a move, that feeling is now gone.

If you had the chance to read the Commissioner’s report then you knew that Cora wouldn’t escape this fiasco unscathed. In fact, it seemed as if he was suspect numero uno in the investigation as his name was tied to the most egregious acts. With Spring Training right around the corner, it isn’t surprising that the Red Sox would make a move as soon as they saw fit.

Today Cora met with Principal Owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner, and team President Sam Kennedy to discuss his future and based on their quotes it was pretty obvious.

“Today we met to discuss the Commissioner’s report related to the Houston Astros investigation. Given the findings and the Commissioner’s ruling, we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward and we mutually agreed to part ways.”

When you’re on the outside looking in there really wasn’t any solution to this matter that wasn’t Cora being dismissed. Saying it was a mutual split is a nice way to allow the manager to save some face during this dark time but Henry and his partners had little wiggle-room.

When AC was brought in as the new manager of the Red Sox ahead of the 2018 season there was a level of excitement around him. He had just won the World Series as a member of the Astros coaching staff and is a former World Series winning player with Boston. Now that we know the dark truth about how things were done in Houston during his time there it’s hard to think his reputation is anything but destroyed.

“We agreed today that parting ways was the best thing for the organization. I do not want to be a distraction to the Red Sox as they move forward. My two years as manager were the best years of my life. It was an honor to manage these teams and help bring a World Series Championship back to Boston,” Cora said.

You can’t deny that his time in Boston has been a mixed bag as his freshman campaign saw heights that have never been reached previously by a Red Sox team. He would follow that up by storming into 2019 with nearly the same roster but failed to even sniff October baseball. It was going to be interesting how he would correct his mistakes ahead of 2020, now that intrigue is gone.

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His dismissal is most likely linked to the Houston investigation as the MLB has yet to complete their search into the usage of the replay room in 2018. With both scandals staring him down it was time to move on from the skipper as he was probably going to garner a multi-year suspension.

I’ve recently written that the MLB isn’t innocent in the mess surrounding the replay rooms as they left them unmonitored for the 2018 regular season and didn’t man them until the postseason that year. They were officiated in the 2019 season and we’re hearing nothing about them. If they had them monitored for all of 2018 it feels like we wouldn’t have this mess on our hands either.

When everything is broken down to the bare bones it was clear that Cora had a heavy hand in both situations and was facing serious punishment. It’s not a shock that FSG decided to have this meeting and it was probably pretty clear to all involved what needed to be done. It’s yet to be seen what Cora is going to serve as a penalty for his involvement but it won’t be short based on his cohorts.

“I want to thank John, Tom, Sam, the players, our coaching staff and the entire Red Sox organization. I especially want to thank my family for their love and support,” Cora added.

It’s sad to see Alex Cora part from the Red Sox but in the long run, it’s probably what’s best for both sides. Boston will now get a headstart on finding the next captain of their ship and Cora will have to live with what the MLB gives him. With the news breaking yesterday it was a matter of time and sadly the final grain of sand is through the hourglass.