Red Sox manager Alex Cora blasted back at criticism over remarks he made to a longtime MLB insider, expressing his feelings about media who attacked his comments in extremely blunt terms. Cora issued his response on Monday, after hosts on a local Boston radio station declared that he should quit as manager after the remarks.
During the telecast of Saturday’s Boston Red Sox win over the Cardinals in St. Louis, Fox Sports sideline reporter and longtime MLB insider quoted manager Alex Cora making what quickly became a controversial remark regarding the trend of clubs awarding long-term, high-dollar contracts to young players, some of whom may not have even played in the major leagues.
“The dynamic changes though, it changes when you have a number of players under those kinds of deals,” Cora reportedly said, referring to contracts of the type given by the Pittsburgh Pirates last week to top prospect Konnor Griffin.
The Pirates signed Griffin to a reported nine-year, $140 million contract on April 8, just five days after the 19-year-old Griffin made his MLB debut.
The Red Sox have also handed out several multi-year contracts to young players, and in some media circles Cora’s comments were interpreted as a complaint, saying that those contracts made his job more difficult.
When asked about the controversy on Monday, Cora did not hold back, to say the least.
Radio Host Says Cora Should Resign
The controversy was stoked Monday morning by Adam Jones, a radio host for WEEI in the Boston area, who essentially called on Cora to resign over the remarks.
“So paying your young players is now bad? Thatâs now another problem in his day?” Jones said, referring to Cora on his Monday morning broadcast. ?Now that makes his job more difficult? Now thatâs another problem he has to deal with, like itâs a bad thing? How doesnât he just quit? Like, I would just quit. Get out of here. If you donât want to do it, Alex, just donât do it. You didnât have to take their money.”
The Red Sox last year gave their own top prospect, Roman Anthony, an eight-year, $130 million contract at age 21 about a month after his MLB debut. Another top Red Sox prospect last season, Kristian Campbell, got an eight-year, $60 million contract about a week after his debut, though Campbell then slumped, was sent back to the minors about two months later and still has not returned.
The Red Sox have also signed center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, pitcher Brayan Bello, ace Garret Crochet and former Rue 5 draft pick Garrett Whitlock to long-term, eight-or-nine figure contract extensions.
Cora’s Blunt, NSFW Response
Cora issued his response Monday in no uncertain terms.
“I think itâs f*****g b*****t [for it to be a controversy], to be honest with you,” Cora said, as quoted by Ian Browne, Red Sox correspondent for MLB.com. “I was an ex-player, and it’s a lot different compared to what’s in the past. I know the dynamics of the business right now, and this is where we work, this is what we’re working for. It’s not this and that, and now it’s harder or not harder. I’s the dynamics of the business. You know, it’s a great business model. It is. You want to keep your pieces as long as possible, as young as possible, and develop them.”
Browne later wrote that Cora did not blame Rosenthal for the controversy. “His issue is that he believes his words were twisted after the fact in other forums (social media, talk radio, etc),” according to Browne.
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