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What Alex Cora said about Red Sox’ pursuit of Juan Soto, Devers’ future at third base & more
"There's a lot of ways to accomplish what we set out to do."
Red Sox manager Alex Cora fielded questions from the media at MLB’s Winter Meetings on Monday.
Beyond his comments about potential Red Sox target Alex Bregman, here are a few more highlights from Cora’s latest scrum.
Moving on from Soto
The Red Sox’ efforts to sign superstar slugger Juan Soto came up short on Sunday, with the outfielder signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets in what stands as the largest contract handed out in professional sports history.
The Red Sox’ final offer to Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, was “around $700 million for 15 years,” according to MassLive’s Sean McAdam.
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An established slugger and on-base machine in the prime of his career like the 26-year-old Soto would be a transformative presence in Boston’s lineup.
But Cora stressed that the Red Sox have already pivoted and have several contingency plans in place after losing out on the record-breaking bidding process.
“We have Plan A, Plan A1, A2, A3, A4,” Cora said of how the Red Sox move on. “So there’s a lot of ways to accomplish what we set out to do. We’ve been talking about winning the division, right, and making it to the playoffs. And there’s different avenues, different ways, and we can attack them, and hopefully we can execute.”
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Even though Boston has little to show for when it comes to the team’s aggressive pursuit of Soto, Cora said he enjoyed playing a part in the recruitment process.
“From my end, it was fun in a way to get to know people,” Cora said. “The kid, he gets it. Let’s put it that way. Obviously, I always have fun with the group that represents him. It was a good experience. I learned a lot.”
Devers staying at third base?
With Triston Casas linked to trade rumors and Boston reportedly kicking the tires on a third baseman like Bregman, there has been plenty of speculation about where Devers will play on the baseball diamond in 2025 and beyond.
While Devers remains an impact bat, the 28-year-old’s defense has been regarded as an deficient area in his game — with a potential shift to first base or DH giving Boston a chance to shore up its infield defense and add another impact bat at the hot corner.
But Cora pushed back against the assertion that the Red Sox were considering a position change for Devers moving forward.
“I don’t know where that comes from,” Cora said of rumors of Devers moving to first or DH. “I haven’t talked to Raffy about that. I have never talked to his agent about that. Obviously people talk about his defense. Actually, I thought last year he did an outstanding job, especially to his left.
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“He actually struggled when he was kind of playing in the shift — if you look at his errors, he didn’t make plays at shortstop. That’s something that we have to get better at. But I think if something like that happens with Raffy, with [Triston] Casas, with Trevor [Story], with [Ceddanne] Rafaela — the player will know first. And I guarantee we haven’t had those conversations.”
Of course, some of that sentiment might change if a player like Casas is coveted by a team with a stockpile of young, cost-controlled pitching talent. But Boston can also add a right-handed bat like Bregman without reshuffling its entire infield if Bregman opts to play at second base in 2025.
The more, the merrier
As impactful as Soto is at the plate, the Red Sox’ offseason would be far from complete even if they got him to sign a 15-year contract.
If Boston wants to make a push for playoff baseball for the first time since 2021, its going to need more talent at the top of its rotation.
It’s a sentiment that Cora agreed with, even if Boston already has a steady foundation of pitchers in place like Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito.
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“I think it’s important at the end of the day,” Cora said of targeting more starters. “Our rotation, they did a good job last year. But the more the better. That’s the way we see it, right? And we’ve been talking to a lot of people, a lot of guys and like I said, now it’s up to us to execute and improve our team.”
Boston has reportedly already met with the top free-agent starters on the market in Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, while trade targets like Garrett Crochet and Jesús Luzardo could also be appealing options if the Red Sox covet younger, cost-controlled arms moving forward.
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