Boston Red Sox fans everywhere were taken aback on April 25 when the shocking news dropped that Alex Cora and his coaching staff had been fired. It was even more shocking to see game planning coordinator and franchise legend Jason Varitek dismissed with him.
In its official press release after the firings, the Red Sox organization phrased Varitek's dismissal as a "reassignment" to another post within the club, to be announced at a later date. In the few short weeks since the seismic changes, Boston's front office has offered no real update on Varitek's tenure with the team. Based on Craig Breslow's rambling responses to the matter, the ball seems to be in Varitek's court.
"Tek has meant and means so much to this organization. There will be an open invitation for him to remain in this organization for as long as he wants. I think those conversations will take place kind of in a private setting with Sam [Kennedy], and Tek and I. And obviously [I'm] confident and hopeful that we can work through that but also want to respect the time right now," Breslow said on NESN's May 12 pregame show (via Ian Browne of MLB.com).
Craig Breslow's response to Jason Varitek question is one of many obvious reasons why he won't return to the Red Sox
Yes, it's the middle of the season, but the Red Sox don't seem to be in any rush to settle their relationship with a club icon and coach of many years. A source told Red Sox reporters that Varitek wasn't actually reassigned and that he was fired alongside the other five Red Sox coaches, a statement corroborated by his wife Catherine's "thank you" tweet to Sox fans.
Even if Varitek was reassigned, why would he return to the Red Sox? Boston is one of the most poorly run organizations in baseball since at least 2019 — the Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers and Chris Sale trades have all been utterly disastrous, the team doesn't compete for top free agents despite having more than enough money to do so, and winning has become secondary to profit (which is strange, because if the Red Sox returned to their early 2000s glory, they'd make more money).
Varitek has taken interviews for managerial jobs with other teams and he would be foolish to return to the Red Sox in a smaller role. Breslow has the people skills of a paper bag, and after being dismissed by him once, it's impossible to believe Varitek will want to return to the same work environment under the same dysfunctional leadership.
For years, the Red Sox have been unable to prove that they're moving in a positive direction on the field and in the front office. At this point, Varitek could find many better places to coach than Boston.
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