Nearly a week after the surprise firing of Alex Cora and six other Boston Red Sox coaches, reports are still coming out about the dynamics behind the scenes in the Red Sox clubhouse and front office. Some extend as far back to last season.
Many of the reports have raked up past memories with Alex Bregman. In an article by multiple reporters from The Athletic, including Red Sox reporter Jen McCaffrey, Bregman stood up for Boston's coaches around Alex Cora (subscription required).
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow reportedly considered moving on from many of Boston's coaches last season. Bregman advocated for them to Breslow, which led him to reconsider, and eventually decide to hold onto all of the coaches around Cora.
These reports have forced some fans to look at Bregman's departure from the Red Sox in a different light, especially after an April 30 report that goes into further detail about the circumstances that may have led to Cora's firing, specifically. According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, multiple sources stated that Cora told Breslow he'd have to fire him, too, if he wanted to make any changes to his coaching staff (subscription required). Obviously, Breslow ultimately went forward with the decision.
Alex Bregman in 2025 reportedly stuck up for now-fired Red Sox coaches
We'll never know if Cora would've quit if Breslow went ahead with firing hitting coach Pete Fatse or any of Cora's other personnel. But Breslow clearly doesn't handle dissent well, which brings us back to Bregman.
In Boston, it's become Breslow's way or the higway, as evidenced by an internal audit immediately after he was hired, the trade of Rafael Devers and the firing of Cora and six other coaches, all without a feel for human decency. If Bregman was going to continue as a vocal presence in the clubhouse, speaking in opposition to some of Breslow's plans, specifically, maybe the CBO thought he had to go.
Breslow completely botched the Red Sox's negotiations with Bregman — not only did he nonsensically decline to sign him to a long-term extension in the middle of last season, he assumed he had no other worthy suitors. If Bregman is the All-Star caliber player and leader Boston saw him as, why did it assume no one else would sign him for the rest of his career?
Did Red Sox pass on re-signing Alex Bregman because of his loyalty to Alex Cora and former coaches?
The Red Sox also refused to extend him a no-trade clause, which would've kept him in Boston for the rest of his playing career. The front office underestimated how important such a deal was to Bregman... or it wouldn't give up the freedom to ship him out at its earliest convenience, either to save money or to eliminate dissent, two things the Red Sox are guilty of doing in the past.
Whether Breslow's hopes to gut the Red Sox's coaching staff kept him from re-signing Bregman, we'll never know. Given just how poorly Boston's current roster is constructed and how many issues Bregman's presence would've solved — and how petty we know Breslow can be, — of course people are going to speculate.
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