WooSox Win First Game Under Iggy Suarez, But Who Is The Man Replacing Chad Tracy?

Worcester, Ma — “That’s one I’ll definitely keep for sure,” Iggy Suarez said as he pointed to the lineup card from Worcester’s 6-2 victory over the Syracuse Mets on April 26. It was Worcester’s 15th win of the season, but more importantly, it was Suarez’s first since being named interim manager of the Worcester Red Sox.

To say that the last 24 hours had been crazy for Suarez would be an understatement. Everything moved quickly not just for him, but also for Chad Tracy as he got ready to fly to Baltimore to take over the major-league club. As things were happening behind the scenes and Tracy vanishing from the dugout, Suarez was the one who took over as he so often did whenever his predecessor was called away into the clubhouse. But this time it was different, and he had a feeling something was up as Tracy vanished around the third inning but never returned for the remainder of the game. That was when he knew something big happened.

“I’m coming in from coaching third and kind of a little bit of craziness is going on in the tunnel where Trace is being pulled in the direction where he had to be on a phone call. And that half inning ends, I go out and coach third and I realize Trace is not in the dugout yet. I’m like okay, maybe it’s a long conversation,” Suarez explained to the media gathered at his first meeting as interim manager.

“After a couple innings, I ran in there [the clubhouse] real quick to kind and see what was going on and got the cliff-note version of what had happened. Trace let me know really quick, and quick hug and had to run back out here because there was a game I had to finish managing.

“It was a whirlwind to kind of realize what was happening. And it was tough to process it at that point, the last couple innings were kind of a blur and a little bit of a haze."

Suarez joined Tracy’s coaching staff in 2025 after serving as the manager of Greenville from 2018 through 2024. It was a long road for Suarez, but he was now managing at the same level he last played professional baseball in for the very same organization he now worked for.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Suarez was drafted in the 24th round in 2003 by the Boston Red Sox. He would go on to play for them through the 2009 season, making it all the way to Pawtucket. During his time in the organization, Suarez played a total of 730 games, hitting .243/.318/.321 while splitting time between shortstop, second base and third base.

He would retire shortly after leaving the Red Sox system after 2009, playing from 2010 until 2013 in independent baseball. Then, in 2014, he returned to the team he started his professional career with the Lowell Spinners, but this time as a coach. After two years, he was named the manager of the Spinners. In his first season, he led the short-season squad to 47 wins and a playoff appearance.

Suarez would only manage the Spinners for two years before being named the next manager of the Greenville Drive. He managed the team for six seasons, winning 365 games there until he was moved to Worcester to serve under Tracy as his defensive and third base coach.

“I’m glad we had a quick game today, it’s an earlier game. To get back into the routine because I want to keep these guys moving.”

And yes, Suarez still coached third today even after his promotion to interim manager. In his first game managing at the Triple-A level, the WooSox played great as starter Jack Anderson tossed four shutout innings before giving way to a relay of pitchers that included Eduardo Rivera, Jacob Webb and Tommy Kahnle to close it out.

Offensively, the team was led by a three-hit performance from Nate Eaton that included a three-run home run to left field. Kristian Campbell, Vinny Capra and Matt Thaiss also drove in runs while the team as a whole walked six times.

“I was hoping I was gonna get it. Right out of the gate, yeah? It was cool, still a different environment right, still gotta adjust to it,” Suarez said after the game in his office when asked by media about the win. It was all smiles, Suarez sitting in what would become his office, though he refused to have Tracy’s stuff removed. He wanted his predecessor to have a moment to breath first and have some time before they changed anything. Though, on the television in the office was none other than Tracy as he went to the mound and called on Zack Kelly to get the final out of the seventh inning in Baltimore.

“I’m pretty sure he’s feeling the same way where it’s like, let’s get this game going. Let’s get the rhythm of the game and that’s where we’re comfortable."

Just as Tracy had previously coached players now on the Red Sox, the situation is the same for Suarez as he previously coached players such as Kristian Campbell, Nick Sogard, Nathan Hickey and Mikey Romero when they were with the Greenville Drive earlier in their respective careers.

“I’ve played under him as a manager before in High-A and we had a great year that year. I’d expect it to be very similar to the program that Trace was running and just keep this thing going,” Sogard explained when asked by the media about his relationship with Worcester's new interim manager.

“I’m an intense guy. I’ll be in there with the players the same way Trace was. I’ll be going about it the way I’ve been going about it. Try to be the same, nothing is going to change. I may have a little more serious look on my face during games,” Suarez stated to media Sunday morning.

Much like how the Red Sox are in good hands with Chad Tracy, the WooSox appear to be in the trusted care of Suarez. The former Boston farmhand will now continue what he does best, working with and developing the next generation of Red Sox stars.

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