How Alex Cora Wants Red Sox To Improve In 2026 Season
'We have to be more consistent'
Alex Cora detailed how the Boston Red Sox can take the next step in 2026.
The Red Sox made their third playoff appearance in seven seasons under Cora, but the manager knows his team isn’t a finished product. Cora identified areas for improvement during Monday’s MLB Network interview at the annual Winter Meetings.
“One of the things that we want to do better is run prevention,” Cora said. “We pitch well. We were OK defensively. I think range-wise and outs above average in the outfield, we were amazing. But we have to be more consistent.”
Cora blamed defense for Boston’s Game 3 elimination playoff loss to the New York Yankees. The Yankees scored all four runs of a 4-0 win during a disastrous fourth inning for the Red Sox.
“Our defense cost us advancing to the next round,” Cora said. “Hopefully we can be more athletic, be better defensively and still rake.”
The Red Sox were hardly dreadful at preventing runs in 2025. They allowed the 10th-fewest runs with baseball’s fifth-best team ERA (3.72).
As Cora alluded to, Boston also ranked 10th in OAA thanks to Gold Glove outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu. However, the Red Sox also committed an MLB-worst 116 errors.
Boston has already worked on bolstering the pitching staff by acquiring starters Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo. Signing Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber would help the Red Sox score runs far more than prevent them, but their lineup may not look the same next season.
