The Boston Red Sox entered the 2025 MLB season with a mixture of hope, hype, and high expectations. Armed with a star-studded roster, aggressive offseason moves, and the steady hand of Alex Cora at the helm, the city of Boston was ready to cheer its team back into playoff contention. Instead, the Red Sox have spiraled into mediocrity, sitting five games below .500 after a painful extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
For many, this team was supposed to be a contender—a squad built not just to compete but to win. Yet, week after week, fans have watched a series of frustrating mistakes, slumps, and injuries chip away at the promise. It’s a perfect storm of bad luck, poor execution, and questionable management decisions. And at the eye of that storm is Alex Cora.
Cora, once lauded for his tactical acumen and clubhouse leadership, now finds himself under intense scrutiny. After Tuesday’s defeat, his comments were as telling as the loss itself. “We keep making the same mistakes. We’re not getting better,” Cora admitted bluntly. “At one point, it has to be on me.” Those words reveal a manager who understands the precariousness of his position—willing to shoulder blame but cognizant that patience from ownership and fans is running thin.
The Red Sox’s struggles aren’t simply about Cora’s management, however. The team’s injury list reads like a who’s who of talent missing in action. Sluggers Alex Bregman and Triston Casas have been sidelined for significant stretches, leaving gaping holes in the lineup. Meanwhile, the pitching rotation has been riddled with setbacks, forcing the coaching staff into constant adjustment mode. Yet, even factoring in injuries, the sense that this team lacks cohesion and focus remains hard to ignore.
Front office whispers suggest that Craig Breslow and Boston’s executives are growing increasingly restless. Despite publicly affirming their support for Cora—who recently signed a three-year extension—insiders say daily conversations are happening behind closed doors about what’s truly missing. If results don’t improve quickly, the notion of a managerial shakeup is no longer just speculation; it’s an inevitability.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Boston made aggressive moves in free agency during the offseason, signaling an all-in approach to competing immediately. Payrolls ballooned, expectations soared, and the pressure to perform has only intensified. In such a high-stakes environment, excuses don’t hold water. Ownership demands accountability, and in baseball, that accountability almost always starts with the manager.
For Cora, the challenge is twofold. Not only does he need to coax better performances out of a disjointed roster, but he must also restore confidence and discipline in a clubhouse that looks increasingly adrift. His willingness to accept criticism is a rare trait in modern sports management, but acceptance alone won’t save his job if the Red Sox keep sliding.
Fans and analysts alike are asking: Can Cora turn this ship around? Or is the damage too deep? History offers few comforting answers. In baseball, prolonged losing stretches often end with a fresh voice in the dugout—someone who can reset the culture and inject new energy. Cora’s candid admission that the team “isn’t getting better” sounds like a farewell more than a rallying cry.
Beyond the immediate future, this season may well define Cora’s managerial legacy. Once hailed as a mastermind who brought the Red Sox a World Series title, he now faces the possibility of being remembered as the man who couldn’t steer the ship through stormy waters. The contrast is stark and serves as a reminder of just how unforgiving professional sports can be.
For Boston, the road ahead is murky. The playoffs feel like a distant dream, and the question lingers: how long will the organization stand behind a manager amid the growing frustration? The answer may come sooner than anyone expects. Meanwhile, the Red Sox faithful brace for what feels like an inevitable reckoning.
One thing is certain—this saga is far from over. Whether Alex Cora can rewrite the script or if the Red Sox will make a clean break remains to be seen. But as the losses mount and the pressure builds, the endgame inches closer. Boston’s baseball future is on the line, and the man in the dugout knows it.