When it comes to the MLB trade deadline, don’t believe everything you hear or read.
On Sunday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora gave us a window into why that’s the case when asked pregame how he handles the balancing act of managing a clubhouse with the deadline just four days away.
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“Don't read too much,” Cora said he tells his players. “I can tell them stories about ESPN in the green room, how people made s*** up - you know, trades. And I can tell them that, like - don't believe everything that is said, you know?
“And it's hard, because that's what rules the world, right? You get into any social platform, and if you're looking for baseball, then your feed is going to be full of baseball stories, right? And there's a lot of people that are very responsible with their trades, rumors and their contacts. Others, they're not. So just block it.
“Just go out there and play. We got a job to do [today], then we got the Twins, and then we got Thursday off, which I think is perfect. You know, Thursday off and just hide if you want to hide, and see what happens.”
Before entering the coaching ranks at the major league level, Cora spent four seasons working at ESPN as a baseball analyst from 2013 to 2016. After a successful run as one of the network’s top voices on the sport, he left the media to become a bench coach for the Astros ahead of the 2017 season (we all know how the story goes from there).
Cora was asked to clarify his comments, being asked specifically if people at ESPN did in fact make up fake trades for air.
“I got stories, man,” Cora said with a grin. “I don’t wanna bury people.”
For a team that is firmly in the mix on approximately 1,000 different trade rumors, this is an important message for fans to focus on in the coming days.
Just because a former major league GM posts something on Twitter or says something on a show, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s even close to happening.
Everyone take a deep breath and enjoy the baseball over the next few days.
Boston (56-50) will go for a series win against the Dodgers (61-44) on Sunday with former Los Angeles starting pitcher Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.72 ERA) facing his old team for the first time. Dustin May (6-6, 4.73 ERA) will take the mound for L.A. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. ET.
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