Audacy's Inside the Monster Podcast with hosts Steve Perrault and Joey Capponi recently caught up with Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Cora talked about his life during his 2020 suspension and the recruitment process of Trevor Story.  

Cora began by discussing what his future might have looked like had he not been rehired by the Red Sox following his 2020 sign-stealing related suspension. 

“I think Bristol, Connecticut (is what I would’ve done). That was actually my plan. At the moment, going through the whole thing in 2020, talking to the family and planning ahead, it was go back to Bristol, people will see you, you talk about everything and then somebody will give you a chance in two or three years. But it just happened that this group, they believe in me, they gave me a chance to talk to Chaim (Bloom) and try to convince him or try to convince the organization that I was the right guy for the job. They gave me a chance, and I’m here because of that.”

Alex Cora was initially hired in 2018 to manage the Sox and he immediately led the team to a World Series victory. Following the 2019 season in Boston, news broke of the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. Cora’s name was linked to the investigation, as he had been part of the 2017 Astros coaching staff. 

Cora was later announced as the only non-player directly involved in the scandal. Before any form of suspension was announced by commissioner Rob Manfred, Boston and Cora agreed to mutually part ways. His future in the MLB seemed extremely uncertain heading into 2020 and beyond. 

Cora was ultimately suspended for the entirety of the 2020 campaign, along with former Astros manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Lunhow.

Cora, as stated in his quote above, knew he might need to wait an extended period of time for a team to take a chance on him once again. But he had apparently impressed the Red Sox enough to get a second chance sooner than he believed was possible, as the team offered him a two-year deal prior to 2021. 

He responded by leading the Red Sox to the playoffs before ultimately falling to the Houston Astros in the ALCS.

Cora also shared the inside scoop on Boston recently signing star free agent Trevor Story to a six-year deal in the podcast. 

“Some people are making a bigger deal than what it was, actually, but (Dustin Pedroia) contacted Trevor for the recruiting process. He was actually in Turks and Caicos on vacation and he was like ‘Dude, I’ve got stuff to do.’ And I told him ‘Man, we need a second baseman, so you’ve got to help us'… It was very college-like, that recruiting process.”

Pedroia is a former Red Sox All-Star second baseman who won the 2008 MVP award with the team. Additionally, he led Boston to two World Series titles during his 14-year career with the Red Sox. Story was reportedly hesitant about moving from shortstop to second base, so Pedroia was likely a major factor in convincing him that the positional transition was worth it. 

Cora continued discussing the process of recruiting Story. 

“There was a team that we heard were being aggressive recruiting Trevor, and Chaim (Bloom) gave me the green light. It started with Kiké (Hernandez), he was the first guy to contact him, then Xander (Bogaerts). That was the big call. Xander called him and said ‘Hey man, I need you.’ Then Chris Sale, Nate Eovaldi, then there was a text by David (Ortiz) at one point there. But Pedey — Trevor probably saw him play a lot being a middle infielder and a guy that rakes. I think at one point (Pedroia) said ‘Well, I can’t do your job.’ I was like ‘No, just help us out bro.’”

According to Alex Cora, recruiting Trevor Story was truly an all-hands on deck attack. It involved current Red Sox players and former stars including Pedroia and the legendary David Ortiz. All of this led to Boston signing the two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. 

Story is excited to start this journey with the Red Sox, and Boston is hopeful he can help lead the team to the World Series in 2022.