Alex Cora Made These ‘Very Honest’ Trade Remarks To Craig Breslow

Craig Breslow was going to be the one to face the music for the Red Sox on Tuesday, but Boston’s work leading up to the MLB trade deadline was a collaborative effort.

Breslow, of course, headlines a team of Red Sox executives, but Alex Cora also was involved as the club looked way for ways to improve. The first-year chief baseball officer on Wednesday referred to Cora as a “thought partner,” and the manager proceeded to break down his influence on the Red Sox’s pre-deadline moves.

“We talked about the relievers,” Cora said on WEEI’s “Jones & Mego with Arcand” show. “That was something I was very honest, very open about because of what I see. The usage is going up and we have to make sure these guys are healthy. They’re not going to be fresh, of course, but healthy in September. I really believe that not adding relievers to the equation, especially for these two weeks, it was going to be tough for us.”

Boston added not one, but two relievers before the clock struck 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Lucas Sims impressed in his Red Sox debut one day after he was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds, and Luis García figures to be a big part of Boston’s bullpen plans the rest of the way.

You can never have too much pitching, so it’s easy to understand why Cora put so much emphasis on relief help with his club in the thick of a pursuit for a playoff spot.