Article: Red Sox Hire José Flores as New First Base Coach

[Nick John]

The Red Sox announced their coaching staff for the 2025 season today, and there's one new name to learn.

The Boston Red Sox announced the latest addition to their coaching staff today with the hiring of 53-year-old José Flores as their first base coach and infield instructor. The hiring of Flores will fill the void left by the firing of Andy Fox back in October. Fox spent one season as the first base coach after being the field coordinator from 2022 through 2023.

Flores will be tasked with working with a Red Sox infield that has struggled the previous two seasons, a fact that must have forced the organization to put a lot of thought into their decision. Last season the Red Sox infield committed 62 errors, something that must change if they want to be competitive in their hunt for a playoff spot.

Prior to coaching, Flores spent parts of five seasons in the minor leagues with the Astros. Debuting as a 19-year-old, Flores was drafted in the 38th round of the 1990 draft. His final season was in 1994 when he played 47 games for the Double-A Jackson Generals. Following his retirement, Flores found himself coaching in the Puerto Rican Winter League and even managed the Puerto Rican national baseball team during the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games and the 2011 Baseball World Cup. 

Flores is also no stranger to being part of a major league coaching staff, having coached first base in 2018 for the Philadelphia Phillies. He also coached for the Baltimore Orioles during the 2019 and 2020 seasons serving as both the third base coach and the infield instructor. The position that might have led most directly to his current role was serving five years as the infield coordinator for the Chicago Cubs from 2013 up until the end of the 2017 season.

Most recently, Flores served as the bench coach for Triple-A Worcester since 2022. Coaching alongside manager Chad Tracy, Flores would occasionally coach third base in addition to his duties as bench coach. On the occasion, Tracy would be tossed from a game, and Flores would take over as the acting manager.  During this time, he built solid relationships with many of the young players who have called Worcester their home, both those who have gotten the call to Boston and those who are still in Worcester.

Flores built an excellent reputation in Worcester thanks to a combination of knowledge and experience as a minor league infielder, a coach in the Puerto Rican Winter League, and then finally a coach in the majors and minors. His ability to form relationships with players and his willingness to tell people what he thinks will be important for a young team like Boston to reshape its defensive identity. One has to wonder whether Flores's ability to build relationships with players was an important factor, considering that Boston’s top four prospects are all at Triple A now and spent time with him last season. All four players will likely be up in Boston at some point in the season, and a familiar face could help ease the transition for them. On the current roster, players Flores coached in Worcester include Triston Casas, Ceddanne Rafaela, Connor Wong, Vaughn Grissom and Wilyer Abreu.

Though he will be missed in Worcester, there’s no denying that Flores deserves this opportunity after the work he put in at Triple A. Flores will have his work cut out for him in reshaping the Sox defense, but he may be the man best suited for fixing it, thanks to his vast coaching experience and his experience with the specific players he'll be coaching. He knows how to talk to them and handle the various personalities in order to can get the best out of them. It will be a tall order, but hopefully Flores can fix one of the weakest parts of the team.

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