Article: Alex Cora Rightfully Isn't Worried About His Job Security With Red Sox

[Alex Mayes]

While appearing on WEEI Afternoons on Thursday, May 29, Alex Cora was asked if he was worried he would be fired after calls for his termination have gotten louder among fans. His answer was a solid no. Cora said, “No, not really, from my end. I actually don’t ask coaches about that. I just ask them to do their best on a daily basis. But I can answer that question personally: no.” 

That was the right answer. Yes, Cora has made some questionable decisions during his tenure in Boston, but as I’ve written recently, there’s few options in house who could realistically replace him over the full season. Ramon Vazquez did well in his two games managed in 2025, and he will likely get interviewed for open positions around the league during the offseason, but he’s not Cora. Additionally, it’s highly unlikely that Fenway Sports Group, and specifically CEO Sam Kennedy, would let Cora go after flying to Colorado in 2024 to sign him to a three-year extension. There’s been little proof of the front office being willing to eat money they have given just to pivot to something else.

When Cora was hired going into the 2018 season, he was a highly sought-after managerial candidate after spending time as the bench coach for the Astros and as a media baseball personality. He then managed a team full of big personalities to a World Series victory and watched as the front office decided to cut corners and jettison those players in deals that the Red Sox haven’t come close to winning. He went from Dave Dombrowski to Chaim Bloom and now to Craig Breslow as his President of Baseball Operations. All have their strengths and weaknesses, but neither Bloom nor Breslow so far have proven to have the full trust of ownership like Dombrowski did. This has left Cora to manage a roster of players who, realistically, are role players on good teams at best. A team that constantly trots out Nick Sogard, David Hamilton, and yes, even (the 2025 version of) Trevor Story on a daily or almost-daily basis isn’t serious. 

What is Cora supposed to do here? He only has the players he has. It’s not his decision to call up Roman Anthony. If it were, I guarantee you Anthony would be on the team already. He’s caught flack for having Marcelo Mayer bat cleanup less than a week into his major league caree,r but when you look at the roster, who else makes much more sense? Krisitan Campbell is trying to figure out how to get out of his month-long slump, Carlos Narvaez has been hitting well but doesn't have middle-of-the-order power, and Wilyer Abreu has had a few chances to bat cleanup and hasn’t lived up to expectations. Why not try out one of the hottest hitting players in the minor leagues to see if that sparks something? 

Maybe the biggest reason that Cora shouldn’t be worried though, is it suddenly appears as though a lot of the decisions that he has been blamed for came as a front office directive. Craig Breslow appeared on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show and was asked who made the call to limit Garrett Crochet to 85 pitches against the Mets. He answered that it was a “discussion”, but that the front office evaluates pitch limits based on recent trends to help prevent injury, thus suggesting Breslow himself made the call to limit Crochet’s pitch count. After pulling Crochet, Cora was lambasted on social media and through the press. He could have very easily thrown Breslow under the bus, but he didn’t. He stood as the manager of the team and spoke about the reasons behind the quick hook. The same can’t be said for not allowing Brayan Bello to get through the fifth inning against the Brewers on May 28th, but Bello hasn’t given Cora much of a reason to trust him in tight situations lately. If the front office is controlling things like pitch counts, what else could they be telling Cora to do?

Alex Cora is very aware that people are calling for his job, but he’s not worried about it. While his seat should be a bit warm, I fully expect him to manage his way out of this slump and get the most out of the players on the roster that has been put together for him. I have my faults with Cora, as do most fans, but he’s a far better manager than he’s currently being given credit for, and until he is charge of roster construction, he shouldn't be the name fans are calling for as the Red Sox struggle.

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[Bellhorn04]

Great piece, Alex.

[Maxbialystock]

3 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Great piece, Alex.

Yes, it is.   

 

[moonslav59]

I agree. I think the chance Cora gets promoted are higher than the chances he gets fired or put into a situation where he quits.

I think other teams would jump at the opportunity to hire him as a manger or even a GM or assistant GM role.

That being said, this team is really stuck in a rut. They lack many basic fundamentals, which is sometimes wrongly attributed to the manager and not years of unlearned skills, is part of this team's issues. Sometimes, a change in leadership gives a team the spark it needs to reach it's full potential, and it really has little to do with how good or bad the current manager is.

Players get complacent, for whatever reason, and maybe a manger is partially of almost fully to blame, but it's hard to know for sure.

 

[dgalehouse]

As long as the owner has his back, his job is safe.

[Alex Mayes]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I agree. I think the chance Cora gets promoted are higher than the chances he gets fired or put into a situation where he quits.

I think other teams would jump at the opportunity to hire him as a manger or even a GM or assistant GM role.

That being said, this team is really stuck in a rut. They lack many basic fundamentals, which is sometimes wrongly attributed to the manager and not years of unlearned skills, is part of this team's issues. Sometimes, a change in leadership gives a team the spark it needs to reach it's full potential, and it really has little to do with how good or bad the current manager is.

Players get complacent, for whatever reason, and maybe a manger is partially of almost fully to blame, but it's hard to know for sure.

 

I agree with this 100%. We talked about it on the last episode of the podcast but it really feels like he's in a holding pattern until he's named the next POBO for the team, whenever they decide to move on from Breslow.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

6 hours ago, Alex Mayes said:

I agree with this 100%. We talked about it on the last episode of the podcast but it really feels like he's in a holding pattern until he's named the next POBO for the team, whenever they decide to move on from Breslow.

Can't disagree more.  Write down what a manager's job description and then try to check off just one item that he's done well since 2018?  The fact that his bench time in Houston is mentioned as a positive is mind boggling.  He led a group of players that he was supposed to be mentoring to hatching the biggest cheating scandal in the sport's history.  I can't comprehend how you can even begin to respect him as a person or a manager.  To each his own but I wouldn't let my kids play for him after the things he's done.  And that's without reviewing all his managerial mistakes in 2018, 2019 and 2021 to 2024. 

That much experience and we still see the same roster mistakes, the same pitching staff mistakes and the same over playing the bench players mistakes.  NOPE.  He needs to go immediately to show Boston fans that the front office can win back some of its integrity by firing him. 

Why not hire an experienced manager with integrity like Boche in Texas.  Heck, maybe Dusty Baker could come out of retirement for a year or two to try to undo the clubhouse damage Cora has done.  There has to be a better answer with all those young players with talent waiting to find a path to greatness.

[moonslav59]

Can't help but laugh at that. Not trying to be disrespectful, but it's wildly funny.

Plus, the position is about how JH views Cora and him, going forward, and not what we think about his skills as a manager.

This about wanting him in the FO, which is a different job with different skills.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

5 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Can't disagree more.  Write down what a manager's job description and then try to check off just one item that he's done well since 2018?  The fact that his bench time in Houston is mentioned as a positive is mind boggling.  He led a group of players that he was supposed to be mentoring to hatching the biggest cheating scandal in the sport's history.  I can't comprehend how you can even begin to respect him as a person or a manager.  To each his own but I wouldn't let my kids play for him after the things he's done.  And that's without reviewing all his managerial mistakes in 2018, 2019 and 2021 to 2024. 

That much experience and we still see the same roster mistakes, the same pitching staff mistakes and the same over playing the bench players mistakes.  NOPE.  He needs to go immediately to show Boston fans that the front office can win back some of its integrity by firing him. 

Why not hire an experienced manager with integrity like Boche in Texas.  Heck, maybe Dusty Baker could come out of retirement for a year or two to try to undo the clubhouse damage Cora has done.  There has to be a better answer with all those young players with talent waiting to find a path to greatness.

I'm the ghost of Ted Williams and I agree with the above message.