Red Sox fire manager Alex Cora amid huge coaching shake-up - ESPN

The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff Saturday in a stunning early-season overhaul with the club sitting in last place in the American League East.

Bench coach Ramón Vázquez, hitting coach Peter Fatse, third-base coach Kyle Hudson, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin also were dismissed. Game planning and run prevention coach Jason Varitek, who is in his 30th year with the organization as a player and coach, «has been reassigned to a new role within the organization,» according to a statement from the team.

Chad Tracy, a former major leaguer and manager of Boston's Triple-A affiliate in Worcester since 2022, was named interim manager. He'll take over a disappointing 10-17 club mired by a punchless lineup and an underachieving starting rotation that is already 7½ games behind the first-place New York Yankees. Chad Epperson was named interim third-base coach, and Collin Hetzler will join the staff as a hitting coach.

«Alex Cora led this organization to one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history in 2018, and for that, and the many years that followed, he will always have our deepest gratitude,» Red Sox owner John Henry said in a statement Saturday. «He has had a lasting impact on this team and on this city. He has led on and off the field in so many important ways. These decisions are never easy, but this one is especially difficult given what Alex has meant to the Red Sox since the day he arrived.

»I want to thank Alex, our coaches, and their families for everything they have given to this organization. They have been part of this club in a way that goes beyond the field, and they will always have our respect and gratitude."

Cora, 50,