Red Sox’s Alex Cora Shares Trade Deadline Memories From Playing Days

BOSTON — The Aug. 1 Major League Baseball trade deadline continues to creep up on the Red Sox, who’ve played just 10 games since the All-Star break and are still in the playoff picture.

Understanding this time of year could generate a diversity of perceptions within the locker room, Red Sox manager Alex Cora reflected back on his playing career. The 47-year-old looked back on a similar instance back when he played for the Dodgers, ahead of Wednesday night’s contest with the Braves at Fenway Park.

“In ’03 when I was with the Dodgers, we needed a first baseman and we thought we were getting a Frank Thomas-caliber guy and we got a good player in Robin Ventura,” Cora recalled. “It was kind of like, we were expecting more. And in ’04, we were in first place, best team in the division and we traded Paul Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota,  Juan Encarnacion. And we got some good players, but we were like, Guillermo was the best set-up guy in the league. We ended up limping into the playoffs and lost in four against the Cardinals. It all depends.”

Cora is also familiar with the trade angle of being a player, dealt from the Dodgers to the Red Sox in 2005 ahead of the deadline, before spending four seasons in Boston as an infielder — years before taking the helm for the team.

This season, the Red Sox have had various advocates in favor of the front office engaging ahead of the deadline. Boston didn’t enter the post-Midsummer Classic break nearly as hot as it entered, however, the postseason window is far from closed. Now 104 games into the campaign, the Red Sox sit just two games out of an American League Wild Card spot, still hanging in contention.

But regardless, nothing’s a given come deadline time.

“I think every year is different,” Cora said. “Last year obviously the reaction of some players — they were disappointed. Maybe in ’18, some players were disappointed too. That’s the nature of the next few days.”