The Boston Red Sox surprisingly fired manager Alex Cora and several members of his coaching staff on Sunday. A new report details the reasons behind that decision.
According to Julian McWilliams of CBSSports.com, the Red Sox front office and Cora had a growing disconnect regarding the talent on the roster and their game-time philosophy. The front office had moved to a more flexible roster with a greater emphasis on various metrics and matchups, coinciding with a decreased willingness to spend.
Two particular instances led to the decision. Cora had continued using shortstop Trevor Story as the second hitter in the lineup despite an ice-cold start to the season. The front office also noted that infielder David Hamilton had been playing better in Milwaukee, leading to questions as to whether or not Cora was getting the most out of the players.
Neither reason for firing Red Sox manager Alex Cora, coaching staff holds up
Neither reason makes sense for Cora to be let go. Story was slotted into the second spot in the lineup for the first nine games of the year before being moved down the batting order. As Story posted a .263/.308/.433 batting line with 25 homers and 29 doubles while stealing 31 bases in his 654 plate appearances in 2025, it was understandable that Cora would give him some time to snap out of his slump before taking him out of the second spot.
Hamilton, meanwhile, has only been slightly better than he was in 2025. He posted a .198/.257/.333 batting line in his 194 plate appearances in 2025, hitting six homers and four doubles while stealing 22 bases. Hamilton had produced a .234/.355/.250 batting line in his 80 plate appearances entering Monday, with a double as his only extra-base hit.
There may be other behind-the-scenes reasons as to why Cora and the majority of his coaching staff were fired. However, if those two reasons are the only justification, the Red Sox made a tremendous mistake.