Alex Cora sounds more open to Red Sox fire sale than ever before

The Boston Red Sox sit in an undesirable position. At 33-34, they are in third place in the AL East, 14 games back of first place. Still, even at a game below the .500 mark, they are just two games back of the third and final Wild Card spot. But that has made things a little bit unclear.

As of now, no clear direction appears to be set on where the team is headed at the trade deadline. They could be buyers and make a play for a Wild Card spot, or they could sell and build for the future.

But earlier today, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made some interesting comments, and he currently seems open to anything.

"Nobody in the dugout, as a manager, would say they want the team to sell," Cora said, h/t NESN. "But I understand where we're at as an organization and we've just got to keep playing better. We have to play better. Whatever decision is made is going to be the decision that's going to be made, and we're going to respect it and we're going to keep going. I think Craig [Breslow] has a pretty good idea of who we are and what we can be in the upcoming weeks, but at the end of the day, that scoreboard with the standings is going to dictate what we're going to do later on."

Alex Cora appears open to Red Sox fire sale at deadline

Obviously, Cora doesn't want to see the Red Sox sell at the deadline. He'd much rather see them add some pieces and become a better team as a result so they can compete for a spot in the postseason.

But at the same time, the Red Sox are far from a World Series contender, and even some big moves won't put them in that conversation. The team has a lot of work to do before thinking about the postseason.

The reality is that the Red Sox may not be a playoff team. They were not expected to be at the start of the regular season. So, we may see them do what they did back in 2022. They added a few pieces that year, but also sold off some other pieces at the deadline.

As Cora alluded to, what the Red Sox do will depend on how they play in the coming weeks, and if they find themselves in the mix and playing better baseball, they may end up buying. But at the same time, Cora knows the front office is going to make the final call on such matters, and if the Red Sox remain in the middle of the pack and inconsistent, then selling may be the way for them to go.

Of course, that isn't the path that anybody associated with the Red Sox wants to follow, but they may have no choice but to sell off certain pieces and see what they can get for them at the deadline.

Players such as Tyler O'Neill, Kenley Jansen, and Brad Keller, who are on expiring contracts, could potentially be on the move if Boston decides to pack it in at the deadline.