Although the Boston Red Sox have already found considerable success in the post-Alex Cora world, the reverberations of firing Cora and other coaches are still echoing in interesting ways. It'll be fascinating to see where Cora ends up once he chooses to manage again. In the meantime, at least one other ousted coach has already found a new home ... and it's within the division.
Red Sox reporter Rob Bradford dropped some news on Sunday that many fans following the team were unaware of — ex-Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse (fired in April) was quietly hired by the Tampa Bay Rays a couple of months after the fact as a hitting consultant.
Fatse isn't in the dugout with a Rays uniform on, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been involved behind the scenes. It's a juicy narrative for plenty of Red Sox fans who criticized or blamed Fatse through the years for Boston's struggling offense. To be transparent, the Red Sox's offense did improve this season in the wake of Fatse, Cora and others getting fired. Make of that what you will.
In hiring Fatse, were the Rays as genuinely interested in Fatse's knowledge as much as playing mind games with an AL East rival? There's likely a little bit of both going on. Tampa Bay's PBO Erik Neander has publicly praised Fatse, possibly in part to diminish suspicions that this was a rivalry-fueled hire.
Former Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse works for the Rays now, and almost no one realized it
'If someone's so passionate about something, there's got to be some good in there somewhere. It's on us to find it. And Pete's got a lot of good.' - Rays POBO Erik Neander on hiring former Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatsehttps://t.co/ipdLuaLLAR
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) September 20, 2026
Despite Rays hire, Pete Fatse's New England ties remain strong
“If someone’s so passionate about something, there’s got to be some good in there somewhere," Neander said about Fatse (per Bradford). "It’s on us to find it. And Pete’s got a lot of good.”
Fatse grew up in Massachusetts, played college baseball at UConn, and founded a hitting school in Palmer, Mass. His stint with the Red Sox began in 2019 as an assistant hitting coach. Now he's moved on to another organization, and honestly, good for him. What else was he supposed to do — wait around for the Red Sox to have a change of heart?
While Red Sox die-hards might half-jokingly rail against Fatse for joining the Rays, this can be a win-win for everyone. Things weren't working out in Boston for Fatse. The Red Sox's offense has been better without him. He's found a new job, and Neander's not wrong — Fatse has plenty to offer. The Red Sox didn't employ him for over six years for nothing.
If the Red Sox were confident in their decision to fire Fatse, they shouldn't feel any type of way about this development. They made the right move for their franchise, and Fatse has moved on and made the right move for his own career. Now, if the Red Sox end up beating the Rays in the playoffs? We can go ahead and call it the Fatse Curse!
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