Red Sox's Surprising Comeback to Contention in 2026
Despite initial setbacks and losses, the Boston Red Sox have rallied after firing manager Alex Cora, driven by emerging stars aiming for playoff glory.
Video Transcript
How are the Red Sox where they are now?
I mean, a brutal start to the season.
They end up firing Alex Cora.
How are they back in contention?
What was one of the keys for Boston getting back into it?
Yeah, you know, it, it's really interesting because it, it wasn't just, you know, the Alex Cora firing, but it was also they lost Garrett Crochet, they lost Roman Anthony.
Marcelo Mayer hit the, the IL really early on as well.
These were three players that were kinda seen as being a focal point of the team.
And, you know, Peyton totally, cl- you know, Connelly Early, some of these guys weren't even kinda highly sought after in terms of kind of the pitching market coming into the year, or at least not expected to do too much.
They trade away Connelly Early, and Curtis Mead, the player they get back, gets hurt, and they've just kept pushing through.
Ultimately, it's just perseverance, and also the Boston Red Sox, they spent a lot this off-season.
This, this team had a lot of expectations based on the players that they acquired.
And guys like Willson Contreras have really, really stepped up.
Sogard has really, really stepped up.
A lot of these-- Will you're a breu.
A lot of the bats that were kind of almost middling pieces in this lineup or as kind of the, the initial thought coming into the year have really shown their upside, and that's what's carrying them through.
But also the emergence of the pitching h- has really been the, the game changer for them, and ultimately that's what they're gonna need if they're gonna make any kind of wave in the playoffs here.
And Alex Cora's name has been brought up again for Philadelphia.
You think that's where he lands next season in two thousand twenty-seven if Matt and Lee say doesn't win the World Series?
He, he'll land somewhere, right?
You know, he, he's definitely a coach that over the, the-- his tenure in Boston was a winning coach relative to other, you know, organizations.
I Is Philly the right call?
I, I have genuinely no clue because with Philly you have to worry about just managing the stars, which is a whole different ball game, right?
It, it's, it's managing players' egos, managing players with high contracts.
How do you create a lineup around those things?
And ultimately, Philly is one of those markets in, in terms of, you know, the fan support that they want you to spend every single year.
The expectations are just as high as Boston.
W- we will see if that's the right fit.
I don't necessarily know, but, I, I tend to think that based on the reports, that's kinda where it's pointing.
And, Don Mattingly will probably just fill in as a base coach again.
