MLB Notebook: One week after firing Alex Cora, Red Sox continue to face identity crisis

It’s been one week since the Red Sox shockingly fired Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff.

I say “shockingly” not because the on-field product didn’t warrant change, it did. The Red Sox have flat-out struggled through the first month of the season. What’s surprising is that principal owner John Henry was willing to eat the remaining $14-15 million owed to Cora.

Which raises an obvious question: if you’re willing to eat $15 million on a manager, why not allocate that same money in the offseason to help facilitate a Masataka Yoshida trade? Doing so could have freed up the roster and prevented the current logjam of four starting-caliber outfielders for three spots.

To be clear, Yoshida is not the reason Cora was fired. There were multiple factors behind the decision. The flawed roster construction is part of the equation. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow wanted a change in the dugout after watching a roster he constructed stumble out of the gate, including a sweep at Fenway Park by the Yankees and a lopsided loss in Baltimore to open a series against the Orioles. At some point, he saw enough. Or he acted decisively to protect his own position. In this case, both can be true.

Instead, Boston is now essentially paying its former manager to sit out, whether that’s staying home in Puerto Rico for the summer or elsewhere until his contract expires or another club hires him, at which point the financial terms would be adjusted.

The Red Sox nearly caught a break when the Phillies showed interest in Cora last weekend. He hadn’t even taken off his Red Sox hoodie before Dave Dombrowski was reportedly eager to reunite with the manager who led Boston to a World Series title in 2018. Dombrowski moved quickly, parting ways with Rob Thomson as the Phillies, like the Red Sox, have stumbled out of the gate.

“I think Alex Cora is one of the finest managers in the game of baseball,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve been fortunate to work with Hall of Fame managers like Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland... I think if (Cora) decides to keep managing, he has a chance to be in that same category, that’s how good he is.”

Cora declined the opportunity to take over as manager of the Phillies, opting instead to spend the summer in his native Puerto Rico with his fiancée, Angelica, and his twin sons, Xander and Isander, who turn nine in July.

That doesn’t rule out a reunion down the line, whether later this season or in the offseason, but for now, Cora isn’t interested in managing. In the interim, the Phillies will move forward with Don Mattingly.

In the wake of Cora’s firing, Trevor Story has emerged as something of a de facto leader in Boston’s clubhouse. He publicly questioned Breslow’s decision the Sunday after the dismissal, voicing support for his former manager.

Story was also disappointed with the organization’s initial explanation to players regarding the firings and made it clear he wanted a one-on-one conversation with Breslow.

“They spoke,” Story said. “There just have to be more conversations had. I wouldn’t say it was satisfactory. We’ll have our talk. We haven’t had it yet.”

Garrett Whitlock also spoke up. 

“They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball,” Whitlock said.

Story and Breslow did have their conversation about Cora. 

“We talked about it. We hashed it out,” Story told NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “Obviously, you heard how I felt yesterday about the whole situation. It’s part of the process. It’s having the conversations, having these tough conversations. Whether you agree or disagree, at the end of the day, we agreed that we want the Red Sox to win.

“Baseball’s a crazy game and it’s a game that is a business at the end of the day. We talked. Obviously, those conversations will stay between us.”

Breslow said he has met with “a number of players” since the team meeting, including Story, who initially questioned “the true direction of the franchise” after Sunday’s discussion.

"Trevor and I had a conversation," Breslow said. "Trevor obviously is a very important part of this team. He's also a leader on this team, and he's incredibly well respected in the clubhouse and by the staff and by me. I'm grateful for the chance to have the conversation with him."

Despite speaking up more publicly, Story continues to find himself at the center of attention.

During Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Astros, NESN cameras caught Ceddanne Rafaela showing visible frustration after a play in the fourth inning. Following José Altuve’s double off the center-field wall with no outs, Rafaela fired a throw to second that reached Story on one hop. Story, positioned a few feet off the bag toward the outfield, was unable to make a tag attempt on Altuve, prompting Rafaela to throw his hands up in frustration.

After the game, Story acknowledged he and Rafaela had not yet discussed the moment.

He declined to elaborate on how he felt about Rafaela’s reaction.

“We’ll keep it between us,” he said. “We’ll keep it between us and that’s what I think good teams do. We’ll handle it.”

Rafaela’s reaction on Saturday is just the latest example of frustration shown by