{"id":372095,"date":"2025-12-27T00:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T00:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/372095\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T00:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T00:20:09","slug":"alex-cora-on-red-sox-track-record-of-interest-in-acquiring-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/372095\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Cora on Red Sox\u2019 track record of \u2018interest\u2019 in acquiring players"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Red Sox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that that\u2019s the number one option, but you never know what can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\tRed Sox manager Alex Cora doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s a bad thing that the organization talks to a plethora of free agents each winter. AP Photo\/Charles Krupa\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Kaley Brown<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDecember 26, 2025 | 6:42 PM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

3 minutes to read<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMLB insider shares what Red Sox are asking for in a possible Jarren Duran trade\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRed Sox have reportedly \u2018shopped\u2019 Brayan Bello this offseason\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Red Sox are one of two MLB teams that have yet to sign a free agent to a major league contract, with the Colorado Rockies being the other.<\/p>\n

However, Boston has reportedly shown interest in signing several free agents since the end of its season nearly three months ago. Some players have already signed, such as first baseman Pete Alonso<\/a> with the Baltimore Orioles. Others the Red Sox have been linked to, like shortstop Bo Bichette<\/a>, remain available.<\/p>\n

This lack of free agency action in recent winters, in contrast with the team\u2019s abundance of trades (e.g. Sonny Gray<\/a> for two young pitchers), has led fans to coin the Red Sox as \u201cinterest kings\u201d: an organization that is consistently linked to top free agents, but often isn\u2019t the team that a player ultimately signs with. Regardless of why the player didn\u2019t end up in Boston (low contract offer, better fit elsewhere, etc.), the \u201cinterest kings\u201d nickname persists.<\/p>\n

While some fans view this repeated interest without much to show for it as a negative, manager Alex Cora doesn\u2019t seem to feel that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the whole thing about, \u2018They show interest.\u2019 We better!\u201d Cora said on the \u201cBaseball Isn\u2019t Boring\u201d<\/a> podcast. \u201cEvery team has to talk to players because if you don\u2019t do that, then you\u2019re being irresponsible. It doesn\u2019t mean that that\u2019s the number one option, but you never know what can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite it being the end of December, the league\u2019s free agency period is still quite young. For example, Alex Bregman signed with Boston in mid-February just before spring training began earlier this year. Therefore, the Red Sox\u2019 interest in an impactful free agent should eventually pan out with a contract agreement.<\/p>\n

Cora explained that the organization is simply doing its due diligence by at least connecting with a variety of available players. But, he also said that fans shouldn\u2019t equate Boston\u2019s interest with making an offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just being responsible. Everybody\u2019s responsible,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018Duh, yeah, of course they talk to that guy,\u2019 but it doesn\u2019t mean that because you talk, you made a huge offer. You\u2019re just learning who they are, meeting them. Not everybody knows each other, and I think it\u2019s a good exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, MassLive\u2019s Sean McAdam<\/a> reported that the Red Sox are \u201cfully expecting\u201d to spend past the first luxury tax threshold this winter. As of Friday, the organization has $243.44 million in payroll committed for 2026, per RedSoxPayroll on X. MLB\u2019s 2026 luxury tax is set at $244 million, leaving Boston with $560K of money left to spend before hitting the threshold.<\/p>\n

Following Boston\u2019s trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Willson Contreras, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said<\/a> that the \u201croster is probably incomplete\u201d and he will \u201ccontinue to look in free agency and look into trade markets for ways to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cora said that in the past, he used to be more impatient and worry about potential moves in the offseason. Now, he said, he recognizes his role as manager and its difference from Breslow\u2019s, for example, and \u201cjust lets it play out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to say I\u2019m less engaged, but in the offseason I just let it play out. The front office, they have a job to do. Obviously, we stay in touch every single day \u2014 we text, we email, we talk whenever we have to. But I\u2019m more patient in the offseason,\u201d Cora said. \u201cI understand that you have to make moves for the benefit of the team \u2026 for the benefit of the organization in the future. I\u2019m more patient now in the offseason than in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\t\tKaley Brown<\/a>Sports producer\t<\/p>\n

Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the latest Boston sports news<\/p>\n

Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boston Red Sox \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that that\u2019s the number one option, but you never know what can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-372095","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}