Red Sox dismiss six coaches as fans fume after third straight disappointing season

Change is coming for the Red Sox after a third straight season without postseason play.

Boston is not retaining six coaches and staffers after an 81-81 finish, according to the Boston Globe.

First base/infield coach Andy Fox, bullpen coach Kevin Walker, assistant hitting coach Luis Ortiz, mental skills coach Rey Fuentes, trainer Ben Chadwick and bullpen catcher Mani Martinez will not return for the 2025 season, per the report.

Pitching coach Andrew Bailey, bench coach Ramon Vazquez, hitting coaches Pete Fatse and Ben Rosenthal, game planning coordinator/catching coach Jason Varitek and third base coach Kyle Hudson will return to manager Alex Cora’s staff after he signed a midseason extension, according to the outlet.

Teams often make changes to their staffs after disappointing finishes, and it’s possible several — if not all — of these coaches have contracts that have or are expiring.

These changes come after chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s first year in said role, where he’s tasked with finding the right mix of coaches and staff to help the Red Sox return to the playoffs for the first time since their unexpected run to the 2021 ALCS.

Fox, a 1996 World Series champion with the Yankees, joined the Red Sox in 2011.

The 2024 season marked his first as the team’s first base coach after two seasons as the field coordinator.

Walker, another former MLBer, spent 11 seasons as a minor league pitching coach before being promoted to assistant pitching coach ahead of the 2020 season.

He shifted one year later to bullpen coach.

Martinez was a small part of Red Sox history as he caught David Ortiz’s grand slam in the bullpen during the 2013 ALCS against the Tigers, per the outlet.

The upcoming offseason will be a critical one for the team with the fan base getting restless amid the team’s struggles and owner John Henry’s seeming unwillingness to spend like in the past.

“We can no longer ask our fans to look to the future, to think about a Red Sox team that’s capable of winning the division and capable of making a deep postseason run,” Breslow said after the season ended, as transcribed by MLB Trade Rumors.

“We have to talk to decisive actions that we’re taking right now to put a better team on the field in 2025.”