Red Sox president: Craig Breslow made decision to fire Alex Cora - ESPN

The decision to fire manager Alex Cora started with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said Sunday.

«Craig leads our baseball operation and he's made several bold decisions and recommendations, and this was one of them,» Kennedy said during a news conference Sunday alongside Breslow in Baltimore. «That's why we took the action we took yesterday.»

The Red Sox (10-17), who are in last place in the American League East, fired Cora and five members of his coaching staff Saturday. Chad Tracy, a former major leaguer and manager of Boston's Triple-A affiliate in Worcester since 2022, was named interim manager.

Kennedy said the decision to make the move was made Saturday morning and that he, Breslow and owner John Henry flew from Boston to deliver the news after Saturday's 17-1 victory against the Orioles.

Kennedy said Henry was part of meetings Saturday and Sunday morning, but he was not present at the news conference.

«Craig and I have a job to do, and this is our job,» Kennedy said.

Not everybody is on board with the change. Veteran shortstop Trevor Story, who is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles, told reporters that the explanation given to players from Breslow about Cora's firing wasn't «satisfactory.»

«It's up in the air what the true direction of the franchise is,» Story said, adding that he wants to talk further about the moves with Breslow. «Some of the best coaches in the world didn't get a fair shot.»

Cora, 50, was in the second year of a three-year, $21.75 million contract extension he signed in July 2024 that made him one of the highest-paid managers in Major League Baseball. The deal expires after the 2027 season.

«Yesterday was definitely