Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is in the final few months of his contract. The Red Sox haven't shared whether or not they plan to resign the skipper, but Cora understands he has leverage over the front office.
He supported Rafael Devers after his preseason comments about Boston's needs as a team, and now Cora has suggested he wants the front office to buy at the trade deadline — he seems to share the recent change of heart among fans that his team has a chance to pull off something big.
Cora also harkened back to the Sox's previous trade deadline performances. He said what fans have been feeling for years.
". . . Honestly, we didn't get better, you know? We just stayed the same and the teams around us got better." Cora said.
"I know we've been talking about the wild card and all that stuff. Let's get greedy. You know, there's teams ahead of us that are not playing good baseball . . . I think, this brand of baseball, we can maintain the way we're playing."
Alex Cora advocates for Red Sox to buy before the trade deadline
Alex Cora on how the Red Sox should handle the trade deadline: "Let's get greedy... let's not settle for the third Wild Card" 👀 pic.twitter.com/nRe71e4xQq
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) June 26, 2024
Cora seems to be on the same page as Red Sox Nation — if ownership is truly committed to winning, now is the time to prove it. Buying at the trade deadline may be the best way to keep Cora in a Red Sox uniform for the next few years. His confidence in his players speaks volumes.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow reacted to Cora's comments on the June 27 installment of WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show." Breslow's thoughts may foreshadow another disappointing deadline performance, but he left room for speculation.
"I think what we focus on right now is the fact that we've got a number of players who are playing incredibly well, who are making progress, guys like Duran and Devers and Wong and Houck who should be All-Stars," Breslow said. " I think it's a really exciting brand of baseball that we're playing that our fans have embraced, so I'm excited for that to continue and I think the rest of us are as well."
The trade deadline is still over a month away, and the Red Sox could be back to their .500 ways by then. But Breslow emphasized that the players Boston already has are playing well, which sounds strikingly similar to the front office's offseason plan that didn't involve any blockbuster signings or trades.
Red Sox fans are tired of rebuilds and watching teams in the American League compete while Boston stays stagnant. Cora agrees, but Breslow's comments don't inspire confidence that the front office will make the right call.