Red Sox’ Alex Cora upset comment was twisted out of context; ‘Nothing controversial to what I said’

Q: What did Alex Cora say about long-term extensions for young players?

Alex Cora discussed how the dynamics change when multiple players receive long-term extensions, but he did not express any controversy regarding the topic.

Q: Why was Alex Cora upset about his comments on social media?

Cora was upset because his remarks were twisted out of context, leading to misunderstandings about his views on player contracts.

Q: Who reported on Alex Cora's comments during the Red Sox game?

Reporter Ken Rosenthal covered Alex Cora's comments during a segment on the nationally televised game between the Red Sox and Cardinals.

Q: What was the context of Alex Cora's comments during the game?

Cora's comments were made in relation to a discussion about the potential for long-term contract extensions for young players, specifically in the context of the Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt.

MINNEAPOLIS — Red Sox manager Alex Cora was not pleased that a comment he made recently about giving young players long-term extensions was twisted out of context by some people on social media.

On Saturday, the Red Sox and Cardinals played a nationally televised game on FOX. During the third inning, reporter Ken Rosenthal did a segment discussing how Cardinals 23-year-old shortstop JJ Wetherholt is a candidate to receive a long-term contract extension. Rosenthal said that agents and player representatives from the union say those types of contracts “do generally prove favorable to the clubs.”

Rosenthal then added, “But Alex Cora was talking to us about this today and he said the dynamic changes, though. It changes when you have a number of players under those kinds of deals. And that’s what the concern can be for some of these teams.”

Cora made it clear he was not upset with anything Rosenthal said on the broadcast. He was upset that his comment was portrayed as controversial by some people on social media.

“You know what? I think it’s (expletive expletive) to be honest with you,” a frustrated Cora said before Boston’s game against the Twins on Monday. “There’s conversations about the Red Sox, there’s conversations about the industry. I was an ex-player and it’s a lot different compared to what’s in the past. So I know the dynamics of the business right now and ... this is what we’re working for. It’s not that ... now it’s harder or not harder. It’s the dynamics of the business. It’s a great business model. It is. It is. Because you wanna keep your pieces as long as possible, as young as possible, and develop them. That doesn’t mean that it’s a bad product or it’s a bad roster or it’s a bad team.

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“It’s interesting when you go to those interviews and you talk and I respect Ken. I don’t know what he said, whatever, but I know how I feel about the business side of it,” Cora added. “And I think he knows and people know, too. You guys know too. So it’s a different model than in the past. It is. And it’s a different structure than in the past. And you have to deal with other stuff. It doesn’t make it harder. It doesn’t make it harder or ‘Oh, it’s so uncomfortable now to manage in the big leagues.’ No, it’s just different because there’s a lot of young people here that you have to keep teaching the game.

“Back in the day, it was 1,500 at-bats in the minor leagues. You play A-ball, Double A, Triple A, and you go to the big leagues, come back to Triple A. There were veterans in Triple A teaching you the game. Now it’s different. So it’s not something that I said that goes against what we’re doing here or where the business is going.”

Since Opening Day 2025, the Red Sox have agreed to extensions with three young players in Garrett Crochet (six years, $170 million), Kristian Campbell (eight years, $60 million) and Roman Anthony (eight years, $130 million).

Under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, Boston also has extended starter Brayan Bello (six years, $55 million) and Ceddanne Rafaela (eight years, $50 million).

Cora reiterated that Rosenthal didn’t need to provide more context on the broadcast.

“People are going to take it however they want,” Cora said. “And I respect that. Like I’ve always said, when I’m here in front of the cameras, I’m very honest. It’s not gray with me. It’s black and white and people respect what I say, they like what I say or they disagree.

“I don’t watch the games but he (Rosenthal) doesn’t have time, man. I’ve been on TV,” Cora said. “I know how it works. And sometimes, the inning is five pitches and you don’t have time to elaborate and then you have to move on. So I’m not uncomfortable with what I said. I know what I said. I know Ken is doing a job, and I don’t think there was nothing controversial to what I said.”