FORT MYERS, Fla. – The comparisons to Red Sox legends began rolling in on Thursday.
“He’s very similar to Dustin (Pedroia), as far as like, the baseball rat that he is,” Alex Cora said, referring to Alex Bregman, who reached an agreement to join the Red Sox on a three-year, $120 million deal (including two opt-outs) Wednesday evening.
“Alex reminds me of my teammate, Rico Petrocelli,” Red Sox Hall of Famer outfielder Fred Lynn opined on X (formerly Twitter). “Same stance and short compact swing that should work well in Fenway. Looking forward to the season.”
Under league rules Cora and his fellow team officials are unable to explicitly discuss an incoming player until the contract is official. Nevertheless, the Sox skipper deftly handled a slew of allusive questions and made general comments about Bregman’s abilities on Thursday.
Who were his favorite players to work with when he was the Houston Astros’ bench coach in 2017? “Special group, special players,” Cora answered with a chuckle.
Will preseason plans change for certain players, such as infielders Vaughn Grissom and Kristian Campbell? Not yet.
Did the manager feel his team was better on Thursday than he had before? “Obviously I cannot get into specifics, but the front office is working hard,” he said, “and the offseason is not over.”
Cora spent the winter pushing for Boston to land the ’24 Gold Glove third baseman. The two share a close bond, though their relationship was fractured for a time after the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal came to light in November 2019. Houston players received immunity from the league, but Cora and the Red Sox “mutually agreed to part ways” amidst his one-year suspension. The Red Sox ultimately rehired him the following offseason.
“We went through a lot for a while there,” Cora said, equal parts candid and careful. “With all those guys, we went through a lot. We’re still going through a lot. We made a mistake in ’17, and some of us paid the price, right, and we’re back in baseball. We got a second chance.”
“As a person, he’s a kid that I really respect. … We have a good relationship. He’s a kid that, you guys will see,” he said, then corrected himself so as to follow the rules. “You guys have seen it before.”