Boston Red Sox
“We are a fraternity, I learned that at a young age, and you have to pay it forward.”
Alex Cora was fired by the Red Sox in late April amid a 10-17 start. AP Photo/Jim Davis
It’s been more than a month since the Red Sox made the decision to fire longtime manager Alex Cora and several members of his coaching staff amid a sluggish start to the 2026 season.
But, even after Cora’s shocking dismissal, the veteran manager has offered a helping hand to the man who replaced him in Boston’s dugout: interim manager Chad Tracy.
“It’s what we do,” Cora said in a text to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. “We are a fraternity, I learned that at a young age, and you have to pay it forward. You don’t forget that no matter your role in baseball.
“Chad has always been there for me,” Cora added. “From the moment he joined the organization, I felt like I had a teammate who saw things the way I did and who was always willing to listen when I needed someone to talk to about team matters.”
Even with Tracy’s rising stock as a future big-league manager during his tenure with Triple-A Worcester, the 40-year-old skipper acknowledged in a conversation with Rosenthal that he’s been thankful for Cora’s help — especially after getting unexpectedly thrust into such a high-stakes spot just weeks into a new MLB season.
“Alex has been incredible to me,” Tracy told Rosenthal. “The details of it, I’ll leave out. But we’ve talked a handful of times and he has expressed nothing but support for me. It doesn’t surprise me. He’s an amazing human being.”
“We’ve talked,” Tracy added of his interactions with Cora. “And that was comforting. Being able to still talk to him, it meant a lot to me that first couple of weeks.”
Tracy’s father — former MLB manager Jim Tracy — said that Cora has been a valuable resource for his son, well before his current situation as the man who replaced him as Boston’s leader from the dugout.
“Prior to Chad’s situation developing there in Boston, I have to tell you this: Alex Cora treated my son like royalty,” Jim Tracy told Rosenthal.
“I am forever grateful for that. And you know the other thing? If Chad needs another opinion besides dad’s, he wouldn’t be the least bit shy about calling Alex Cora because that’s the kind of relationship that they maintain with one another. I think it’s so special.”
While the Red Sox were 10-17 to start the season under Cora, the results have only marginally improved so far this year with Tracy at the helm, with Boston posting a record of 17-18 since his appointment as interim manager.
As for Cora, the 2018 World Series champion is seemingly set on taking the rest of the year off from managing before revisiting his options.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters in April that Cora turned down a managerial role in Philly just days after the Red Sox fired him.
“He just felt that he wanted, at this point, to be a father first and foremost. That’s what he had decided,” Dombrowski said.
“I think Alex Cora’s one of the finest managers in the game of baseball,” he added. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Hall of Fame managers like Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland and have been very fortunate in my career. I think if Alex Cora decides to keep managing again, he has a chance to be in that same category. That’s how good he is. ”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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