Amidst Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox's wild-card race in the American League, trading for catcher Ali Sanchez made sense for the veteran manager. After the Red Sox avoided a three-game sweep from the Pittsburgh Pirates, bouncing back with a 5-2 win on Sunday, Cora addressed the trade and the benefits of it.

Cora discussed the team's relatively good health heading into the final stretch of the Red Sox's regular season, but adding a backup catcher doesn't hurt either, he said, per MassLive.com's Christopher Smith.

“We saw an opportunity to bring a good catcher [back]. A guy we really like. And obviously, we don’t know what the future holds. Carlos [Narváez] was banged up a few weeks ago. He’s been able to post,” Cora said. “We feel confident that hopefully we can stay healthy. But at the same time, if something happens, he can help us win games.”

Between the vast improvements of their starting pitching and an elite closer in Aroldis Chapman, the Red Sox have turned their 2025 MLB season around from the low expectations in April to a 21-5 record at Fenway Park since June 4, including 14-2 in their last 16 home games. However, Boston trails the Yankees by half a game in the AL Wild Card standings as the race heats up heading into September.

Alex Cora delivers optimistic Masataka Yoshida Red Sox take

Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) in the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

One of the many bright spots of the Red Sox's 2025 MLB season has been the return of Masataka Yoshida, who made his season debut in July. In his third season, the young hitter returned from right labrum surgery and is still trying to find his groove this late in the season. Still, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is confident Yoshida will find consistency.

Cora can already see Yoshida turning things around, he said, according to MassLive.com's Christopher Smith.

“The last two games have been solid,” Cora said. “It seems like he’s seeing the ball a lot better. Has been able to stay on pitches going the other way. And hopefully, that’s the beginning of something good.”

The Red Sox will host the Guardians in a three-game series, starting on Monday.

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