Red Sox fired the wrong people over slow start

Changes needed to be made with the Boston Red Sox.

And changes are coming. Although the Red Sox had their largest margin of victory on the season with a 17-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, it was not enough to save manager Alex Cora's job. Cora, hitting coach Peter Fatse, bench coach Ramon Vazquez, game-planning coach Jason Varitek and third base coach Kyle Hudson were all fired on Saturday as the Red Sox have begun to clean house.

There is no denying that the Red Sox needed to do something. Even with that win, they have a 10-17 record and reside in the AL East basement. It is getting late early.

Red Sox general manager Craig Breslow to blame for disastrous start to season, not coaching staff

However, Cora and the coaching staff can only work with the players they have been given. That falls on the front office and general manager/president of baseball operations, Craig Breslow.

The Red Sox's 2025-26 offseason was a disaster. Breslow and the front office bungled third baseman Alex Bregman's free agency, letting him depart to Chicago because they reportedly did not believe the offer he received from the Cubs and refused to match the terms. Infielder Caleb Durbin was acquired from the Brewers to fill that void and has not hit at all, posting a .165/.260/.271 batting line in 96 plate appearances. First baseman Willson Contreras, outfielder Wilyer Abreu, designated hitter Masataka Yoshida and backup catcher Connor Wong are the only players with at least one plate appearance and an OPS+ over 100 (league average). The result has been a lineup that has produced a .631 OPS entering Saturday, better than only the woeful Mets.

The Red Sox have struggled on the pitching side as well. Sonny Gray has been mediocre and is on the Injured List. Staff ace Garrett Crochet has uncharacteristically struggled despite firing six strong innings on Saturday. The rotation as a whole has been one of the worst in the majors, posting a 5.31 ERA, 27th overall, entering Saturday's action.

The Red Sox coaching staff overhaul may be the shock that the roster needs to perform to expectations. However, Cora has far more of a track record of success than Breslow. As the general manager is responsible for a drastically underperforming roster, he should have taken the fall for the disastrous start to the season.