The Boston Red Sox announced the firings of manager Alex Cora, along with several of his staff members, on Saturday night. Red Sox President Sam Kennedy and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow met with the media ahead of Sunday's win in Baltimore, and now, as the dust settles, several members of the Boston roster have commented on the shocking firings. Here's what they said:
21-year-old Roman Anthony was the first player to speak with the media about the firings when the clubhouse opened this morning, telling Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, "I don’t think anyone really expected it...At the end of the day, when we take the field, it’s on us. It’s not AC’s job to go out there and do the things that we’re expecting to do as players. So, I mean, it’s nobody’s fault but ours.”
The Red Sox' veteran shortstop, Trevor Story, appeared to be the most outspoken about the firings, elling Chris Cotillo of MassLive before the game, "It’s just tough for the guys that were let go because they’re some of the best coaches in the world and they care more than anybody...Just felt like they didn’t get a fair shot at it."
Story was especially poignant when talking about his former manager, “It’s always tough when you lose a guy like A.C. who has been here as long as I’ve been here and much longer than I have. He had our backs every single day. He was very truthful with the players and took bullets for us and did everything you could ask for and more as a manager. Just can’t express how thankful I am to have played for him,” he told Cotillo.
The 33-year-old didn't stop there, as he made it clear he was not satisfied with the explanation the team received when Breslow addressed the team ahead of Sunday's 5-3 win over Baltimore, saying "Obviously, it’s kinda up in the air what the true direction is...those are conversations that need to be had and they’ll be had today and onward going forward, too. I came here to win, and I came here to be successful... Some of the direction needs to be cleared up a little bit, in my opinion.”
According to Cotillo, Story reiterated several times that he would need to have further conversations with Breslow, who told reporters he would remain with the team for the remainder of the road trip, as soon as Sunday.
"Obviously, a bit of a shock for everybody, the past 24 hours have been a whirlwind," said Red Sox starter Connelly Early, who got the win on Sunday. "We played the way AC would've wanted us to play," he continued after the game.
Among those let go in Saturday's purge was franchise legend Jason Varitek, who was "reassigned" by the team. Catcher Carlos Narvaez spoke about the absence of "The Captain," after the game as well. "It's not a secret how close I was with 'Tek, ' he said. "He was a mentor to me...he was like my second dad...I know he's always going to be there for me, and for everybody here, lucky to have him."
"He was a mentor to me... I said it multiple times last year, he was like my second dad... he's always going to be here for me and for everybody here."Carlos Narváez on Jason Varitek and the #RedSox coaching changes🎙️ Presented by @WBMasonCo pic.twitter.com/HTEO64PTiM
Ace Garrett Crochet was asked postgame about the dismissals, placing blame on the players in the clubhouse, telling The Boston Globe's Tim Healey, "We've been playing terrible, and it kind of feels like those guys paid the cost of our own crime."
Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock also spoke with reporters ahead of Sunday's game, offering a bit of insight into what the meeting with Red Sox brass was like when they announced the firings to the team. Per Healey, Whitlock told reporters that Breslow addressed the team for about two minutes, while Henry and Kennedy stood off to the side, telling Healey that the room was not opened to questions, "They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball.”
Story backed up Whitlock's claims, telling Cotillo, "If this shows us anything, it's that we're here to play baseball. That's it. We don't make decisions. We don't have any input on that. We're here to play baseball, and our job is to win games. I think that's the message. We have to find a way to win games."
Former Major League executive Zack Scott took to Twitter/X to question the decision not to open up the floor for questions, saying, "When I fired the Mets hitting coaches on the road in ’21, I held a meeting the next morning with the whole travel party. Explained the call. Took questions. Wasn’t comfortable. Couple of players probably wanted to fight me. Decisions like this aren’t democratic. They shouldn’t be. But the clubhouse is its own ecosystem, and when you blow it up, the least you owe people is transparency and a chance to be heard."
When I fired the Mets hitting coaches on the road in ’21, I held a meeting the next morning with the whole travel party. Explained the call. Took questions.Wasn’t comfortable. Couple players probably wanted to fight me.Decisions like this aren’t democratic. They shouldn’t be.… https://t.co/wGO2DzWi9x
One player who did not make any comments on the firing was outfielder Jarren Duran. During his time as manager, Cora repeatedly praised Duran, at times calling him the type of player kids should aspire to emulate, and he lauded him as a clubhouse leader.
Nusbaum described the scene outside of Duran's locker, saying, "At the start of clubhouse availability, outfielder Jarren Duran spent several minutes changing from one outfit into another as reporters hovered around his locker. Finally, he turned around, side-eyed a reporter who asked if he had some time, and waved the back of his hand toward the horde to dismiss them without saying a word."
The Red Sox kicked off the Chad Tracy era with a 5-3 win over the Orioles in Sunday afternoon's rubber match. Still, it is clear that there will need to be further discussions within the clubhouse about what led to the firing of the third-winningest manager in franchise history.
The Red Sox will head to Toronto for the second leg of a six-game road trip that gets underway on Monday night. Ranger Suarez will get the start for Boston, opposite Dylan Cease for the Jays. First pitch from Rogers Centre is set for 7:07 p.m. ET.
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