Red Sox part ways with first base coach Tom Goodwin

The Red Sox will not be bringing first base coach Tom Goodwin for the 2022 season, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom announced from Fenway Park on Monday afternoon.

Goodwin, 53, had served as Boston’s first base coach shortly after Alex Cora was first named manager of the Red Sox in October 2017.

In addition to his first base coaching responsibilities, Goodwin also served as the club’s outfield instructor and base running coordinator in his four seasons with the organization.

This past season, Goodwin — who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 — was forced to miss time on two separate occasions after being identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive for the virus.

On account of his unvaccinated status, Goodwin was not eligible to coach in the postseason since Major League Baseball was only granting on-field access to non-playing personnel (managers, coaches, athletic trainers, etc.) who were vaccinated.

And so in late September, quality control coach Ramon Vazquez took over as Boston’s first base coach for the rest of the year. Goodwin, on the other hand, remained in the Red Sox dugout and provided instruction to the club’s outfielders until the regular season came to a close.

When speaking with reporters during an end-of-season press conference on Monday, Bloom clarified that the decision to part ways with Goodwin had nothing to do with his vaccination status and was instead baseball-related.

“He helped bring this organization and this city a championship,” Bloom said. “It doesn’t take anything away from that.”

With Goodwin’s dismissal, the Red Sox now have an opening at first base coach. It’s unclear at the moment who will fill that vacancy, though Bloom did indicate that the rest of Cora’s coaching staff is expected to remain intact through the winter and return next spring.

“Obviously, it’s early,” said Bloom. “We haven’t put pen to paper with everybody who we need to. But the intent is that everybody else will be back.”