Boston Red Sox Flashing More of the Same Despite Manager, Coaching Staff Changes

If all else fails, one knows the Boston Red Sox aren't afraid of dramatic changes under Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow.

This year's installment saw several familiar faces lose their jobs, including longtime (sans 2020) manager and 2018 World Series champion Alex Cora. Similar to when a veteran player is designated for assignment, the Red Sox decided to call up a prospect to replace Cora. Thus, Chad Tracy gets the nod for the first time as a big-league manager. Now, with one a few more games under his belt this year than Cora got, the Red Sox are 13-16.

Better, sure. But that's hardly marked improvement from the 10-17 they were with the former skipper.

There are signs this team, at least offensively, is coming around. But how much of that is the coaching change versus simply positive regression? For example, outfielder Jarren Duran -- whatever your opinion of the player may be -- is a career-110 wRC+ bat. Since Tracy took over as acting manager on April 26, Duran has a 105 wRC+; it's 130 since May 1.

Overall, he's still having a subpar season offensively, but he's clearly on the right track. He's someone who succeeded with Cora as manager, and Pete Fatse as hitting coach. He's clearly a good baseball player and, at worst, a solid bat at the top of the order. His power surge isn't unique to his career, as he's had several weeks-long stretches flashing power.

So, what gives? Why are the Red Sox, despite playing slightly better, continuing to free fall in the American League playoff race?

Red Sox Lesson #1: Firing Coaches Doesn't Change the Roster

Roster construction is something of a buzzword at this point. It's gotten so overused, it's gone on "mute watch" several times this season. However, the facts are the facts. This team, while talented, is simply not good enough to win baseball games.

It's incredible, really. A team that last year overcame the midseason trade of a longtime franchise cornerstone, then significantly upgraded its pitching staff, isn't good enough to win a year after making the postseason. But it's true.

A lion's share of that falls on the man who builds the roster, Breslow. The third-year CBO built a team designed to complement a massive Year 2 from Roman Anthony and a return-to-2024-form for Duran. Neither happened, and the team is suffering because of it.

Complacency regarding the outfield in general has held this team back. The Red Sox still have five outfielders for three spots, causing inconsistent playing time for Masataka Yoshida. That wouldn't be a problem if not for Yoshida being a legitimate on-base threat this season, posting a .347 OBP -- tied with Ceddanne Rafaela, higher than Duran -- and 101 wRC+ overall despite just one home run.

They also opted to hang on to infielder Marcelo Mayer despite reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks liked him in a possible trade for Ketel Marte. That may eventually prove fruitful, and Mayer is one of the best defenders at his position, but Marte is out pacing him by 1.5 fWAR and 225 OPS points.

Another component of those reports was Arizona's desire for one of Payton Tolle or Connelly Early. Both arms have been impressive this season for the Red Sox, but balking at that trade later facilitated the trade that sent Kyle Harrison -- plus two players -- to Milwaukee for infielders Caleb Durbin (39 wRC+), Andruw Monasterio (77 wRC+), and Anthony Seigler (Triple-A).

Meanwhile, Harrison is an early-season candidate for the National League Cy Young.

So, to echo what Breslow told Cora before firing him, he made the manager's job pretty hard.

Red Sox Lesson #2: Bullpen Management Remains an Issue

Let's start with the elephant in the room: right-hander Greg Weissert continues to come up small inheriting runners. So far this season, he's inherited 21 runners; twelve scored. Overall, he's got a 4.43 earned run average across 24 appearances. 

Good? No. Though, probably better than it feels. The recent series against the Braves was the latest in an ever-growing list of situations Weissert didn't come through. On Tuesday, he allowed a two-out RBI single to Ronald Acuña Jr., plating an inherited runner in a game the Red Sox lost by one. Come Thursday, Acuña got him again with inherited runners, blasting a dagger of a grand slam in the sixth inning. 

Bases loaded, nobody out is an almost impossible situation. At that point, you're conceding at least a run. Weissert walked pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski after getting ahead 0-2, then the grand slam followed. Game over.

The fact the Red Sox continue using Weissert in those spots is growing concerning. It's cliche, but the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The Red Sox, by that definition, are insane. 

They had no problem pulling the plug on southpaw Tyler Samaniego -- until he got re-called with right-hander Garrett Whitlock hitting the shelf -- after a few rough outings in high leverage. Why be so stubborn with Weissert?

Moreover, Tracy seems to have adopted the old adage of his predecessor when it comes to not chasing wins. Several times in his brief MLB career, the Red Sox have a late-and-close situation and opt for low leverage arms instead of Whitlock (pre-injury), Justin Slaten, or even left-handed bullpen ace Aroldis Chapman. That also reared its ugly head in the Game 1 loss to Atlanta, as right-hander Tyron Guerrero gave up a two-run homer to Michael Harris II after the Red Sox clawed their way back into the game.

Again, the offense has shown signs of waking up, but why potentially make their job harder? 

Where Do the Red Sox Go From Here?

Despite the 23-33 record, the Red Sox still sit just five games back of the wild card through 51 games. Not only that, but they're also chasing six teams just to get into the final wild card spot held by the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays.

It's too early to start bailing on 2026, especially when you took such a leap of faith by firing so many coaches. That said, the odds remain stacked against a postseason berth despite such promise coming into the year.

Several veterans will likely be sought after this summer. Chapman, Duran, Willson Contreras, Whitlock, even someone like Isiah Kiner-Falefa all likely will have suitors. Not to mention right-hander Sonny Gray, whose an contract will all but certainly at season's end.

Right now, it's a matter of hoping and wishing for the 2026 Boston Red Sox and, to speculatively a greater extent, Breslow. It's a consistently frustrating watch, but this is the roster they have. All they can do is hope for the best and see where they are two months from now.