Red Sox manager breaks silence after naming five players who will leave the team in the market this year and has two key names on the list that have fans shocked beyond belief!
BOSTON – In a bombshell revelation that has sent shockwaves through Fenway Park and beyond, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora finally broke his offseason silence on Wednesday, confirming the departure of five key players as the team gears up for a transformative 2026 campaign. Speaking exclusively to MLB Network from his offseason home in Puerto Rico, Cora laid out the organization’s blueprint for contention, admitting that tough decisions were necessary to address defensive lapses, injury concerns, and roster redundancies following the Red Sox’s heartbreaking Wild Card exit to the New York Yankees last month. But it’s two names on that list – fan favorites Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida – that have left supporters reeling, questioning the very soul of a franchise built on loyalty and grit.
The 2025 season was a tale of two Red Sox: a blistering start fueled by high-octane additions like Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman, propelling Boston to 89 wins and a playoff berth for the first time since 2021. Yet, injuries derailed the momentum, with the team limping through September and bowing out in three games to their arch-rivals. Cora, ever the pragmatist, has spent the past six weeks dissecting the roster with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. “We took a step forward in certain areas,” Cora said, echoing his post-elimination remarks. “We’re not a perfect team, but we’re improving. This offseason, we’re going to be very aggressive – and that means some goodbyes.”
The first wave of departures feels almost inevitable in the cutthroat world of MLB free agency, which officially opened last weekend. Leading the pack is third baseman Alex Bregman, the Astros import who opted out of his contract after a monster 2025. Bregman, 32, slashed .289/.372/.512 with 28 homers and 98 RBIs, anchoring Boston’s infield and providing the right-handed power that had been absent since the Rafael Devers injury scare in August. His clubhouse presence was electric, mentoring young guns like Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, but whispers of a $150 million-plus deal elsewhere – possibly a return to Houston or a splash with the Dodgers – have circulated since Game 162. “Alex gave us everything,” Cora admitted. “He’s a leader, a winner. But the market’s calling, and we’ve got to pivot.”
Joining Bregman on the open market is right-hander Lucas Giolito, whose resurrection in Boston was nothing short of miraculous. Acquired in a low-risk trade last winter, Giolito posted a 3.45 ERA over 165 innings, striking out 198 batters and emerging as the steady No. 2 behind Crochet’s Cy Young-caliber dominance. The 30-year-old’s qualifying offer was declined, signaling Boston’s intent to reload the rotation with youth like Brayan Bello and prospect Quinn Priester. “Lucas was huge for us, especially down the stretch,” Cora noted. “But we’re building around arms that can go deep without the wear. It’s business.” Giolito, represented by Scott Boras, is already drawing interest from the Mets and Phillies, where his ground-ball tendencies could thrive in pitcher-friendly parks.
Rounding out the trio of expected exits are utility wizard Rob Refsnyder and relievers Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen. Refsnyder, 32, provided clutch outfield depth and a .284 average in 120 games, but with Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu locked in long-term, his role evaporated. Martin, the 39-year-old setup man, logged a 2.18 ERA in 58 appearances but showed signs of fatigue, allowing three homers in his final 10 outings. Jansen, Boston’s grizzled closer, saved 32 games at age 38 but blew four in high-leverage spots, prompting Cora to deploy Aroldis Chapman more aggressively. “These guys bought us time and wins,” Cora said. “Rob’s heart, Chris’s precision, Kenley’s fire – they’ll be missed. But we’ve got internal options like Zach Pop and Liam Hendriks stepping up.”
If those moves sting, the true gut punches are Story and Yoshida – the emotional core of a team that clawed back from early-season despair. Shortstop Trevor Story, 32, silenced doubters in 2025 with a .263/.329/.489 line, 25 homers, and Gold Glove-caliber defense after years plagued by shoulder and elbow woes. Acquired in the 2022 Garrett Whitlock deal, Story became the face of resilience, his barehanded plays and walk-off blasts etching him into Red Sox lore. Fans chanted his name during the playoff push, viewing him as the bridge to the next dynasty. Yet Cora revealed that Story’s camp rejected a three-year extension, eyeing a five-year, $120 million pact elsewhere – perhaps with the Cubs or Mariners, where his versatility shines brighter. “Trevor’s our warrior,” Cora choked out. “The injuries… they took a toll. We offered fair, but he deserves the world. This one’s hard.”
Yoshida, the soft-spoken Japanese star, adds another layer of heartbreak. Signed to a five-year, $55 million deal in 2023, the 31-year-old designated hitter rebounded from a disastrous injury-riddled 2024 to hit .298 with 18 homers in 2025, his silky swing and plate discipline (OBP over .380) making him a fan darling. Off the field, Yoshida’s humility and post-game sushi runs endeared him to Boston’s diverse fanbase, bridging cultures in a city still healing from its 2021 collapse. But with the outfield overcrowded – Duran, Anthony, Abreu, and Rafaela all under team control – and DH duties shifting toward power profiles, Boston is exploring trades. “Masa’s magic,” Cora said. “The way he sees the ball, the joy he brings… Fans will riot, and I get it. But we’ve got to thin the herd for contention.”
Social media erupted within minutes of Cora’s interview. #SaveStory trended nationwide, with over 150,000 posts lamenting the end of an era. “Cora’s lost his mind – Story AND Yoshida? Who’s left to root for?” tweeted one diehard, while another quipped, “Bregman and Giolito? Fine. But this feels like trading Ted Williams mid-season.” Pundits piled on: ESPN’s Jeff Passan called it “a calculated gutting,” praising the influx of prospects like Jhostynxon Garcia and Dalton Rushing, while NESN’s Tom Caron warned of “fan alienation in a pivotal window.”
Cora, aware of the backlash, doubled down on optimism. “We’re not rebuilding; we’re reloading. Crochet’s our ace, Devers is eternal, and we’ve got a farm system humming. Expect splashes – Soto whispers are real, and we’re eyeing Suarez at third.” As free agency heats up, with the Winter Meetings looming in December, Boston’s faithful brace for more upheaval. The Red Sox, perennial heartbreakers, now face their boldest reset yet. Will it forge a champion, or fracture the bond at Fenway? Only time – and Breslow’s checkbook – will tell.
In the end, Cora’s candor cuts deep, but it’s the price of pursuit. The Green Monster looms large, waiting for new heroes to scale its heights. For now, Red Sox Nation mourns the fallen, stunned by the speed of change in a game that never stands still.
Minnesota Vikings have a major J.J. McCarthy issue, and how Kevin O'Connell handles it could make or break the franchise's future
The 2025 season for the Minnesota Vikings has been a disaster.
Right now, things are at an all-time low, as they sit at 4-7 and have lost three consecutive games, including two in the NFC North. Head coach Kevin O'Connell has the biggest challenge of his Vikings tenure this season: what to do with quarterback J.J. McCarthy?
This season was viewed as one of growth and development for the first-time starter, but the Vikings, as they have in the three prior seasons with O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, weren't going to punt just to focus on development. They made multiple roster moves this offseason, aiming to win now while developing a quarterback. Turns out that wasn't the case.
Vikings have a conundrum when it comes to J.J. McCarthy
We are now six games into the McCarthy era, and it hasn't looked great. Yes, there was the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears in Week 1, when he threw two touchdowns and ran another en route to an NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Sure, he threw a dynamite football to Jalen Nailor to seal a victory over the Detroit Lions. Outside of those two games, there hasn't been a whole lot to be excited about.
That continued on Sunday afternoon, when McCarthy had the worst game of his career. He looked unplayable for the majority of it, throwing for 87 yards and two interceptions, including this ugly one where the ball sailed on him.
No matter how you look at it, McCarthy's been awful. We know his mechanics have been all over the place, and they were wonky in the above clip. The inconsistencies have been the only real constant for McCarthy, and it's not just on the field; it's also the stat sheets. If you want to look at EPA/play, specifically in drop backs, he's not just bad, he's nearly the worst in the last 25 years.
That's a brutal statistic to look at. McCarthy's performance against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday was the third-worst in the league in that category after taking out quick pressures.
Perhaps a chart comparing him to his contemporaries in terms of efficiency, which is particularly important when discussing the baseline of quarterback play, will help emphasize our current position. Well, he's the worst in the league.
It's hard to find a silver lining in McCarthy's game right now. Even so, O'Connell expressed confidence in his ability to win with how he's playing, and much of that likely stems from what he sees in practice every week.
“I think you can. I do believe that,” said O’Connell about winning with this version of McCarthy. “But it does require, as a football team, not doing things that lose games. A special teams turnover, I believe, in two out of our last three games, and then ultimately, the defense is out there battling. They’re trying to get the ball back for us as much as we can. But then there are some things where you can’t have breakdowns around that player to consistently sustain.”
There is something to what O'Connell is saying about having his teammates playing well, and it takes everyone to win a football game. The game felt lost after the botched punt early in the third quarter. You can't give away points, but the offense wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire either.
The other element is how often his receivers are dropping the ball. Going into Week 11, Pro Football Focus charted McCarthy's attempts with a 14.7% drop rate, the highest in the NFL. You can look at this one of two ways: his teammates aren't helping him out, or he's not throwing a very catchable football. It's likely the latter, as Carson Wentz had just a 3.5% drop rate on 166 attempts, which was 26 more than McCarthy had in his five games.
It's also fascinating when you look at things from a surroundings perspective. You can make the argument that no first-year starting quarterback has had better surroundings than McCarthy.
With how McCarthy is playing, you have to start considering alternatives in multiple forms. O'Connell took a serious chance with the offensive approach in this game, focusing on the running game more than he had all season, including a 58% run rate in the first half, and it paid off with 4.7 yards per carry. Even so, McCarthy had his worst game, and there's a non-zero chance that O'Connell could lose the locker room.
“It’s frustrating to be up here and say the same things every single week. You say the same things, expecting for something to change, and we’re still in the same spot," said star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
At a certain point, it doesn't matter how much you run a play in practice if you can't execute it on Sunday.
“I think it’s more a matter of understanding how important each and every single play is,” said right tackle Brian O'Neill in the locker room. “We can run it 100 times [in practice]. But this week, how does that apply? And then, [it ’s] understanding what might be asked of you on that play, and how it applies to the defense we’re going to get. What is my exact job on that play, and how do I have the best chance for success on that play?”
Right now, the biggest reason for the lack of success on a given play has been McCarthy. Do the Vikings look at the unthinkable and bench him just six games into the season? Considering the backup is UDFA rookie Max Brosmer, who the Vikings are high on, it would send a potentially dangerous message. Even so, not making a change could possibly lose the locker room, and they already felt checked out in the second half of Sunday's game.
One thing to remember about the entire situation are O'Connell's comments from September of 2024 when he appeared on The Rich Eisen Show after McCarthy's meniscus injury.
"I believe that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations. And that’s not there’s no specific example in my mind that I could give you of a team or a quarterback just overall 30,000 foot view," said O'Connell.
"It’s important to understand that every one of these guys is on a journey — a very difficult journey — and that they need support and teammates around them. They need the systems in place to ultimately maximize who they are and what their potential is, because you’re still drafting players rich off of potential. And then everything that happens from that moment to when that potential becomes is really on the organization."
Here's where things get confusing. The systems and support are in place for McCarthy, but it's not working. How much longer can O'Connell keep going with McCarthy, considering how good and stable things are in the organization? With such stability, would moving on from McCarthy be failing him, or would it be a Josh Rosen-type admission that he isn't the guy they thought he could be?
If O'Connell chooses to move on, would he be allowed to choose another quarterback? It's something that plenty of coaches don't get a chance to do, but this is a unique situation. O'Connell brought out the best in Kirk Cousins, Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and revitalized Sam Darnold. If there was ever a coach to survive a situation like this, it would be O'Connell. Anything he chooses to do needs to work, not just for the team and the fanbase, but also for his job security.
The future of the Minnesota Vikings is far from certain across the board. Whatever O'Connell ends up doing, which I believe will be starting McCarthy for the rest of the season, will be widely discussed and criticized across the league. Clarity will come sooner rather than later, and we will learn a lot about this organization in the process.
