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Red Sox’ Alex Cora: ‘I’m pretty sure somebody’s going to hit 20′
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- Red Sox’ Alex Cora: ‘I’m pretty sure somebody’s going to hit 20′
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Manager Alex Cora said the way Red Sox hitters have crushed home runs in the World Baseball Classic suggests projection models have underestimated Boston 's power.
FanGraphs' 2026 ZiPS projects nobody on Boston to hit 20 home runs. Trevor Stor y, Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu are each projected to hit 18 homers, while Willson Contreras , Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran are projected at 17 apiece.
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Cora was asked if the tournament has perhaps changed how the rest of the baseball world views the Red Sox as a team heading into 2026.
"Probably for the projections. I really believe somebody's going to hit 20 home runs for the Red Sox," Cora said. "I'm pretty sure somebody's going to hit 20."
Red Sox hitters have combined for 10 home runs in the WBC.
Duran hit three home runs in four games for Team Mexico.
Anthony, who will play for the United States in tonight's championship game against Venezuela, has two homers in six games. He also hit one in the USA's exhibition game against the Giants.
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Masataka Yoshida had two blasts in five games for Japan.
Abreu crushed a 409-foot, three-run home run in the sixth inning to put Venezuela ahead 7-5 over defending champion Japan in the quarterfinals.
Nate Eaton and Tsung-Che Cheng also each went deep once.
"Credit to the coaches, because that's something we talk about. We want them to be prepared for the tournament," Cora said.
A key question heading into 2026 is how much power Anthony will provide.
The 21-year-old slugged .406 in his first 31 games as a rookie in 2025 before slugging .503 over his final 40 games.
"Just the evolution of the player and the adjustments," Cora said about Anthony showing more as his rookie season progressed. "It's the big leagues. And I think the gap between PD (player development) and Triple-A and the big leagues is huge. Stuff-wise, it's not the same. And when you come here, you're going to see 97 (mph) fastballs from every angle. It's gonna sink. It's gonna cut. It's gonna ride. And there's an adjustment period. It's not that easy.
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"And he hit the ball hard on the ground," Cora added. "His ground balls are different than others. He hits the ball hard so his ground balls are gonna get through. But he started hitting the ball in the air three weeks into his season here with us, and you saw what he can do."
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