BALTIMORE — Less than 24 hours after the Boston Red Sox shockingly fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff, infielder Trevor Story said the club’s path forward seems unclear.
“I mean obviously, it’s kind of up in the air what the true direction of the franchise is,” the two-time All-Star said Sunday morning before a series finale against the Baltimore Orioles. “Some of the best coaches in the world didn’t get a fair shot.”
Story, who wasn’t in the starting lineup for Sunday’s 5-3 victory against the Orioles, told reporters that the explanation given to players from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow about Cora’s firing wasn’t “satisfactory” and that he wanted to talk further about the move with the executive.
“Those are conversations that need to be had,” Story said. “They’ll be had today and onward going forward, too.”
The Red Sox officially fired Cora on Saturday evening after a 10-17 start to his eighth season guiding the club, including an embarrassing three-game sweep at home to the New York Yankees earlier in the week.
Chad Tracy, a former major leaguer and manager of Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester since 2022, was named interim manager and won his debut with the team Sunday.
Story praised Tracy’s “baseball mind,” but he was clearly still emotional about Cora’s firing.
“He had our backs every single day,” Story said. “He was very truthful with players and took bullets for us and did everything you can ask for and more as a manager. I just can’t express how thankful I am to have played for him. Yeah, I’ve got a love for that guy.”
Outfielder Roman Anthony said the decision to fire Cora after Saturday’s victory caught the entire team by surprise.
“I don’t think anyone really expected it,” Anthony told reporters. “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.”
Reliever Garrett Whitlock said Breslow and Tracy spoke with the team for roughly eight minutes in a Sunday morning gathering that also included owner John Henry and team president Sam Kennedy.
Whitlock said Kennedy and Henry did not talk, nor did any of them take questions from the players.
“They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball, and we need to just focus on playing baseball,” Whitlock said of the meeting. “… So that’s where we’re at.”
Added Story: “If this shows us anything, it’s we’re here to play baseball, and that’s it. We don’t make decisions. We don’t have any input on that.”
Story, who is in the fifth season of a six-year, $140 million deal, is an exception on a young roster that has traded away stars including Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers since Cora guided Boston to a 2018 World Series title in his first season.
The Red Sox have reached only two postseasons since, and only one since Story’s arrival, when they made a wild-card appearance in 2025.
“I came here to win, and I came here to be successful,” said Story, 33, who is among the Boston batters struggling with a .198 average, two homers and 17 RBIs. “And we had a flash of that last year. We’re looking to build on that. Obviously not off to a great start. But yeah, some of the direction needs to be cleared up, in my opinion.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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