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Former Red Sox manager Alex Cora during his time in Boston. Cora broke his silence after his earlier ‘happy’ post following his firing.

Alex Cora broke his silence Tuesday after posting “Happy” following his shocking firing by the Red Sox. The now former Red Sox manager seemed initially to be defiantly claiming he was “happy” to be dismissed from the Boston job. This time, Cora shared a heartfelt message thanking Red Sox fans.

Cora’s controversial firing caught fans, the media and Red Sox players off guard, despite the team’s dismal 10-17 start and a reported payroll of $256.3 million, the highest in team history. Cora was dismissed along with six members of his coaching staff immediately after a 17-1 win in Baltimore over the Orioles, easily the largest margin of victory for the Red Sox this season.

Just a few hours after the mass firing, Cora took to his Instagram account, posting a photo of himself and the fired coaches ready to board a private jet back to Boston, smiling and appearing quite pleased.

The following day, Cora took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to post a single word, “Happy,” along with a smiling emoji.

Despite the firing, Cora arguably has a reason to be happy. During the 2024 season, the Red Sox offered him, and Cora signed, a three-year contract for $21.75 million.

That contract effectively gives Cora a golden parachute. The Red Sox must now pay him another $12 million for essentially doing nothing, or even while he manages another team if a job offer comes along for next season.

The fired coaches’ salaries have not been made public, but MLB coaches’ salaries are believed to top out at about $300,000 per year for the highest-paid members of a coaching staff, such as pitching and batting coaches.

Cora did not give a reason for his sudden change in tone after his initial, rather glib “happy” posts.

Cora’s Heartfelt Farewell Message

Following Cora’s firing, the Red Sox have won two games in a row under newly named interim manager Chad Tracy, who was formerly manager of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. That extends the Red Sox winning streak to three, which may not seem overly impressive, but with three days left in April it marks the first three-game winning streak the Red Sox have put together so far in 2026.

On Tuesday morning, following the Red Sox 5-0 shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays on the road behind eight one-hit innings from lefty starter Ranger Suarez, Cora once again posted to his social media accounts, this time with an apparently heartfelt message saying goodbye to Boston.

“Boston, we will miss you,” Cora wrote in the post.

“Gracias for making us part of you. #RedSoxNation, you are the [heart] of that team, keep believing, you really care and that’s what pushes everyone in the @RedSox to give it all day in and day out.

With respect and love

AC”

What’s Next For Red Sox, Cora?

At a Sunday press conference to discuss the firings, Breslow praised Tracy as “the right guy to handle this transition,” promising, “we’re gonna put all of our effort into supporting him to do that.”

And yet, Breslow also said that he did not rule out hiring a new manager for the Red Sox before the current season is out, sending a message to Tracy that his “interim” job is far from secure.

As for Cora, the 50-year-old native of Puerto Rico has already seen his name linked to several other teams. According to a CBS Sports report, topping the list is the Philadelphia Phillies, where president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski on Tuesday fired manager Rob Thomson after a 9-19 start for a team with a $267 million reported payroll.

When Dombrowski held the same job with the Red Sox, he gave Cora his first and only managerial job so far, hiring him to take over the Boston club starting with the 2018 season.