Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has some questions to answer. He may have multiple World Series rings, but 2018 was a long time ago. Although the Red Sox have one of the best farm systems in MLB, the Boston skipper cannot get out of his own way. His decision to pull top prospect Roman Anthony in extra innings vs. the Tampa Bay Rays is yet another sign that he is probably not the right guy.
The sequence in question was perfectly outlined by Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci. Cora pulled Anthony in the bottom of the 11th inning in favor of having right-handed hitter Rob Refsnyder face a left-handed reliever in Ian Seymour. Boston was down two with the automatic runner on second. Even though Refsnyder has hit well vs. left-handers, Seymour was making his MLB debut on Monday night.
Refsnyder did not deliver like Cora believed he would. Boston ended up losing 10-8 to Tampa Bay at home on Monday night to fall to 32-36 on the season. Verducci wrote that while the analytics said to go with Refsnyder, he did not agree with the decision to pull Anthony. I would not have done that in the same situation either. You want to empower your up-and-coming stars to go out and make plays!
Tinkering late in games is commonplace for Cora, who often pulls Marcelo Mayer in spots like these.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Questionable Roman Anthony decision has us questioning Alex Cora
I know this is baseball, where we question every manager's questionable decision every day for the rest of time. It is an exhausting way to live, but here we are... However, I have often found myself on the side of if Cora is any good at his job or not? The guy loves to tinker as much as his team loves to underperform. If I were the Red Sox, I would look for a new manager who empowers his young stars.
What good is it to have promising prospects like Anthony coming up the pipeline if they do not have the right manager to lead them? This was only one game and one questionably bad decision, but you do get the point, right? I could be wrong in this, but Boston is not going to get out of its perpetual quagmire with Cora calling the shots from the dugout. These bad decisions have a lingering effect.
Even though prospects do next to nothing for me, I also understand that every organization is different. Boston has been talking ad nauseam about the guys thriving down in the minors. You and I and everyone else wants to see them succeed. I just find it hard to believe that the American League version of Brian Snitker is going to get it done for the Red Sox going forward. A change has to come.
There was an opportunity for Anthony to become a hero, but Cora selfishly ripped it away from him.