The 2018 Red Sox were known to have one of the closest clubhouses in recent franchise history, an incredibly talented group whose ability was amplified by its off-field closeness.

But on occasion, manager Alex Cora has mentioned that not everything was perfect in a year that netted a franchise-record 108 regular-season victories and a World Series championship. One former player offered a startling illustration of that point.

In an appearance on the “Section 10″ podcast, 2018 alum Brock Holt said a member of that team, whom Holt declined to identify, startled teammates with an unsettling statement.

“We were stretching. We were in Tampa and we were stretching before [batting practice], and we were all in a circle having a good old time, just stretching and getting ready for a major league baseball game, and this someone looks around at all of us and says, ‘You know what? I’m going to bring a gun to the field tomorrow and kill all of you.’ And then he looks at me and says, ‘And you’re going to be first,’ ” recounted Holt. “And I was like, ‘Dude, I know you’re probably joking, but you can’t say that.’ We’re all like, ‘Dude, we’re having fun here.’ It brings the vibe down, man.

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“Our strength coach at the time is like, ‘Dude, I’ve got to tell [then-president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski].’ And I’m like, ‘Please do, because I’m the first one that’s going to go.’ ”

In the same podcast discussion, Holt offered some hints as to the identity of the player.

“There were some people I preferred not be on the team,” said Holt. “We had a guy or two like that in ’18, and we got rid of them and we took off. I think you can guess who it was.”

Notably, after a three-game series in Tampa Bay from May 22-24, the Sox released Hanley Ramirez immediately upon returning to Fenway Park. Dombrowski and Cora met with Ramirez at 3:45 a.m. At the time, the team described the move as a baseball decision to get more at-bats for first baseman Mitch Moreland (who made the All-Star team that year) and to keep catcher Blake Swihart on the roster, but Holt’s account suggests other considerations may have been in play.

Holt’s account of the incident was confirmed on X by former Red Sox assistant hitting coach Andy Barkett.

Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.