Hey, it's Zack.
Welcome to Issue #2 of The Save.
Before I get into Boston I want to highlight a few players who have owned the league through April. Two hitters. Two pitchers. And an honorable mention.
Yordan Alvarez | Houston Astros | DH
Yordan Alvarez is one of the most exciting hitters in baseball right now. Through March and April he hit .356 with 12 home runs and 27 RBI in 32 games. He missed most of last season with injury and came back looking like a man on a mission. Fun fact. The Dodgers signed him out of Cuba in 2016 and traded him to Houston for a relief pitcher before he ever played a game for them. Imagine if he was wearing Dodger blue right now.
Ben Rice | New York Yankees | 1B
Ben Rice was one of the best hitters in baseball through March and April. The Yankees first baseman hit .327 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI in 30 games. Rice was a 12th round pick out of Dartmouth in 2021. He and Aaron Judge became the first Yankee teammates to each hit 10 or more home runs in the team's first 29 games since Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle in 1956.
Cam Schlittler | New York Yankees | SP
Cam Schlittler was one of the best pitchers in baseball through March and April. The Yankees starter went 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 7 starts. A 7th round pick out of Northeastern in 2022. He is emerging as a must watch pitcher in baseball.
José Soriano | Los Angeles Angels | SP
José Soriano is a name worth knowing. He had Tommy John surgery twice before making his MLB debut in 2023. Coming back from one is tough, let alone two. Through March and April he went 5-1 with a 0.84 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 42 and two thirds innings. People are not talking about this guy enough.
Honorable Mention | Mason Miller | San Diego Padres | CL
Mason Miller finished March and April with 10 saves in 15 appearances. His 34 and two thirds consecutive scoreless innings streak dating back to last August was the eighth longest by a reliever in MLB history. It ended on April 27 on a borderline call. As a former closer I cannot ignore what he was doing.
Now I want to get into something that has been on my mind for a few weeks.
I’m sure you’ve heard about it by now.
The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora along with five members of his coaching staff. Almost the entire dugout. Gone. Jason Varitek reassigned. Chad Tracy called up from Triple A Worcester to take over.
Cora was fired after 27 games. 10 wins. 17 losses. Last place in the AL East. And it happened the same day the Red Sox beat the Orioles 17 to 1.
THE ENTRANCE
First, let me give you some context.
Alex Cora was hired at the end of the 2017 season after serving as bench coach for the World Series champion Houston Astros. He was brought in for one reason. To win.
Win he did.
In his first season he led the Red Sox to a World Series title. The team included Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers. Three homegrown guys. All under 26. The core of a franchise built to win for a long time.
That was seven years ago. None of them are Red Sox today.
Betts a generational talent, was traded to the Dodgers in 2020 in a salary dump. He told ESPN he would have signed his 12 year $365 million extension in Boston. The Dodgers gave it to him instead. Meanwhile Betts has accumulated 32.7 WAR and won three World Series titles in Los Angeles. While the packaged returned to Boston has put up 10.4 WAR in the same time. With all but one player still in the organization.
Bogaerts a 4x All-Star with Boston, hit free agency after 2022. He said the offer Boston made was pretty rough. So he left for San Diego and $280 million. Can't blame him. Boston has never fully replaced his production on their roster.
Devers got a 10 year $313.5 million extension in 2023. Largest in franchise history.
Alex Cora gets a 3 year extension in July, 2024.
Then Boston signed Alex Bregman in February of 2025 and gave him Devers’ position. Things got ugly fast. The Red Sox traded Devers on June 15th, 2025.
Worth noting that before the trade, Devers was hitting .272 with 15 home runs and a .905 OPS in 73 games with the Red Sox. He was one of the best hitters in baseball. Since the trade, he has not been the same player. Why is he struggling in San Francisco? Can some of it be attributed to being traded after committing long term to a place where he was comfortable and thriving?
The package the Red Sox got for Devers has mostly been shipped to other organizations with only one remaining in the Minors with Boston. So far, this does not look like a great deal for the Red Sox.
Then we get to Bregman, who opted out after the 2025 season. Boston had him for one year because they wouldn't give him a no trade clause. The Cubs would. Gone to Chicago.
Now, Cora is gone.
THE DELIVERY
Look at what is happening on the field. Through the first 27 games Boston ranked near the bottom of baseball in nearly every offensive category. Their pitching staff has underperformed. And several players carrying significant long term contracts have not produced anywhere close to expectations. That is a roster construction problem. And roster construction falls on the front office not the manager.
Cora had been saying it all season, “The roster is the roster.” That is a manager publicly telling his front office he does not have what he needs. Looking back, it’s confusing why they signed him to a three year extension in July 2024. Only to dismantle the roster around him and then hold him and his entire staff accountable for the team's poor performance. Firing Cora and clearing out his entire staff does not fix what has been broken in that organization for years.
To me, Alex Cora is a scapegoat. Do we expect the front office and ownership to take accountability? All this started long before Cora was fired.
THE SAVE
Here is what I know. Players talk. Word travels fast in this league. When a franchise mishandles its best players everybody finds out.
In baseball and in every organization, losing your best people has a trickle down effect. You have to replace that level of skill and talent with like people. And that's harder than any front office wants to admit.
The analytics era has changed how teams think about roster construction. Players are evaluated. Quantified. Optimized. The numbers tell you who to keep and who to move.
But here's what the numbers don't always capture. What it means to a clubhouse when a franchise player walks out the door. What it does to the players still there. What does it signal to the fans?
Everyone is replaceable.
But are they?
Next issue I want to talk about these long term deals teams have been signing with players who have little or no MLB service time. I will dive into why I believe they are doing it and the potential impacts to arbitration and free agency.
Talk soon, Z
The Save is a personal newsletter based on my own experiences, opinions, and recollections. The opinions expressed here are mine alone and do not represent any team, organization, union or employer past or present. When discussing players, contracts or organizational decisions I am sharing my perspective as a former player — not making legal or financial claims. When I share stories involving others I am telling them from my point of view. When I share tips or lessons I am sharing what worked for me. Always do your own research and consult professionals when making important decisions.