Red Sox Manager Blasts ESPN Over Fake Trade Rumors

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been on both sides of the trade deadline circus — and now he is calling out the ringleaders.

“Don’t read too much,” Cora told reporters Sunday when asked what he instructs players to do during trade deadline time, adding, “I can tell them stories about ESPN in the green room, about how people made (expletive) up.”

Video of Cora’s comments was posted on social media by WEEI’s Tom Carroll.

Alex Cora says he tells his player not to read too much about the trade deadline, saying ESPN talent used to make up fake trades in the green room before shows while he was working there:

“…People made s*** up, you know? Trades – I can tell them that. Don’t believe everything… pic.twitter.com/nbOIfEUvE9

— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) July 27, 2025

The veteran player-turned-manager, who worked as an analyst on ESPN and Baseball Tonight from 2013 to 2016, made it clear he is not buying every rumor that surfaces in the final days before July 31.

“It’s hard because that’s what rules the world,” he added, pointing to the nonstop churn of speculation that dominates social media, podcasts and studio panels alike.

And while his frustration may be specific to one outlet, the broader critique cuts deeper. Giving life to baseless trade chatter is essentially as old as sports journalism itself.

Inside MLB clubhouses, deadline week is a swirl of anxiety, texts from agents and refreshing social media feeds. For some players, it is a waiting game with no say in the outcome. For others — especially veterans with 10 years of service time, including the last five with the same club — it is a business decision they can control. Those with no-trade clauses can steer the ship, vetoing specific destinations or deals altogether.

But contract language is only one part of the equation. The human element weighs just as heavily. Players with school-aged children often have to evaluate the impact on their families. Others are simply trying to keep their focus on the game as their name trends online.

In 2025, whispers travel faster than facts. And while front offices keep quiet, the conversation keeps spinning — driven by agents, reporters, and sometimes even those with a microphone and no inside info. That dynamic has never really changed.

Because if what Cora is saying is true, the loudest voices in the room might just be echoing their own inventions.