Alex Cora puts pressure on John Henry, Craig Breslow with pointed trade deadline comments

The Boston Red Sox have outperformed their expectations thus far in 2024. With a record of 43-37, they are currently tied with the Kansas City Royals for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League.

The Red Sox had a chance at reaching the postseason last year at the trade deadline, but chose to mostly stand pat instead of adding pieces.

Recently, manager Alex Cora discussed what the Red Sox might do at the deadline and recalled last year's organizational decision to stand pat. His comments may put some pressure on ownership and the front office to make some deadline moves.

"We just stayed the same and the team around us got better," Cora said of last year's deadline. "When you stay put, there's going to be teams that added, right, and they're going to be better than you. It's not that your team was a bad team, but the other ones around you got better."

Alex Cora discusses trade deadline, calls for front office to add pieces

The Red Sox only acquisition at last year's deadline was Luis Urias, and he was more or less just a replacement for Enrique Hernandez, who was traded back to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aside from that, the Red Sox really didn't do much of anything at the deadline.

After the trade deadline, Boston went south and ultimately finished 78-84, falling to last place in the American League East. While it may not have been the sole reason for their slump, it certainly didn't help that they were quiet at the deadline.

Cora was trying to put a little pressure on the front office to make some moves and improve the team when discussing the standings so far.

"I know we've been talking about the Wild Card and all that stuff, but let's get greedy," said Cora. "There are teams ahead of us, they're not playing good baseball. I know probably one of them, it's only for five days, but there's more out there. I think this brand of baseball, we can maintain the way we're playing. Let's not settle for the third Wild Card."

The Baltimore Orioles recently ended a five-game losing streak on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees lost four straight series. So, there's a chance for the red Sox to catch up over the next month and down the stretch.

Cora managed the Red Sox to a World Series title in 2018, and it's clear that he's hungry to get back to the postseason and give the Red Sox a shot to win another title. Only with a few key deadline moves will the Red Sox have a chance to be in contention for a title.

It's clear that Cora wants to win and that he might be a little bit frustrated with the front office and ownership for hesitating to make moves to improve the team. We'll see if they oblige and give Cora want he wants.