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Red Sox players express frustration with front office following firing spree
Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story. Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

Red Sox players express frustration with front office following firing spree

Even after scoring 17 runs in a rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, little has gone right on the field for the Boston Red Sox overall this season. The club entered play Sunday with a division-worst 10-17 record, and the Sox offense was dominated by the New York Yankees’ pitching staff this past week, managing only three total runs in a three-game sweep at the hands of their archrival.  

That is inexcusable around Boston. As a result, heads rolled on Saturday.

The Red Sox's front office announced the dismissal of five coaches Saturday evening, including widely popular eighth-year manager Alex Cora, who guided the club to a World Series title in 2018 and a couple of additional playoff appearances since. Hitting coach Peter Fatse, bench coach Ramon Vazquez, third-base coach Kyle Hudson and game-planning coach Jason Varitek rounded out the list of firings. 

Red Sox veterans make their feelings known

After a brief meeting with front-office officials Sunday morning, a couple of Red Sox players offered some thoughts on the situation. Sixth-year Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock asserted that GM Craig Breslow addressed players for about two minutes, while interim manager Chad Tracy spoke a little longer.

Per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Whitlock went on to say, “They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball.” 

Shortstop Trevor Story, who has played under Cora since 2022 and is coming off a big bounce-back season, was clearly unhappy with what has transpired in Boston. 

“Some of the best coaches in the world didn't get a fair shot,” the 33-year-old said. 

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Story conveyed confusion over the aims of the franchise, stating that “it’s kinda up in the air what the true direction is.” 

He continued, “Those are conversations that need to be had, and they’ll be had today and onward going forward, too.”

Obviously, that’s not an encouraging sentiment from a two-time All-Star and team leader, particularly when the goal is to get the season on track before it’s too late.

Nate Miller

Throughout more than a decade covering various sports, particularly MLB & NFL, as a writer, editor, and podcast producer/host, Nate Miller has contributed for many of the top outlets in the biz such as FantasyPros, Athlon Sports, Fantasy Alarm, Sporting News, and others. He's been heard as a feature guest on various radio stations and podcasts, including Sirius XM Fantasy, FNTSY Network, and FM 92. 9 The Game in Atlanta

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