Breaking Down What Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Had to Say at Winter Meetings

Let's quickly run through some of these points...

1) Cora should be OK with his contract situation. He's in the final year of his deal and given that Craig Counsell just moved the managerial salary market forward exponentially, he's in line to get paid handsomely after the season, either in Boston or somewhere else.

2) It's interesting to hear how Cora views these three pitchers. The Red Sox likely need two more starters this offseason to fill the rotation alongside Chris Sale, Brayan Bello and Nick Pivetta. Perhaps one or both of those starters can come from this group. If not, those three could wind up in the bullpen or as AAA depth. Whitlock is paid too well for that, so he likely would go to the 'pen if he doesn't start.

3) Perhaps there's a more prominent role for Rafaela, who debuted at the end of 2023, now that Alex Verdugo has been traded. The team still has a glut though, with Wilyer Abreu, Rob Refsnyder, Masataka Yoshida and Jarren Duran. If Yoshida were to move to more of a DH role, then Rafaela may have a chance to slide in to the outfield mix from day one.

4) Story really struggled upon return from internal brace surgery. He hit just .203 in 158 at-bats with three home runs. He struck out 55 times in 43 games.

5) Justin Turner was great for the Sox in 2023, but given that new CBO Craig Breslow says he'd like to have a rotation of guys at DH, Turner's return seems unlikely.