BALTIMORE (AP) — Less than 24 hours after the Boston Red Sox shockingly fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff, infielder Trevor Story said the club’s path forward feels unclear.
“I mean obviously, it’s kind of up in the air what the true direction is,” the two-time All-Star said on Sunday morning before a series finale against the Baltimore Orioles. “Those are conversations that need to be had. They’ll be had today and onward going forward, too.”
The Red Sox officially dismissed Cora on Saturday evening after a 10-17 start to his eighth season guiding the club, including an embarrassing three-game sweep at home to the New York Yankees earlier this week.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow explained the first in-season firing of a Boston manager since 2001 by suggesting it showed commitment to the current season.
“It really comes down to the belief we have in the players, and the belief we have in the group to accomplish what we set out to accomplish,” Breslow said Sunday. “By acting today, it gives us 135 games ahead of us, almost a full season’s worth of run, to take advantage of this fresh start.”
But Story, in the fifth season of a six-year, $140-million deal, is an exception on a young roster that has traded away stars like Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers in the years since Cora guided Boston to a 2018 World Series title in his first season.
The Red Sox have reached only two postseasons since, and only one since Story’s arrival when they made a wild-card appearance in 2025.
“I came here to win and I came here to be successful,” said the 33-year-old Story, who is among the Boston batters struggling with a .198 average, two homers and 17 RBIs. “And we had a flash of that last year. We’re looking to build on that. Obviously not off to a great start. But yeah, some of the direction needs to be cleared up, in my opinion.”
Breslow and interim manager Chad Tracy spoke with the team for roughly eight minutes in a Sunday morning gathering that also included owner John Henry and team president Sam Kennedy, according to reliever Garrett Whitlock. Players did not talk during the meeting.
“They spoke. Yeah, they spoke,” Story said. “There just has to be more conversations had. I wouldn’t say it was satisfactory.”
To reporters, Breslow and Kennedy indicated this was a decision driven by baseball operations after the club had performed particularly poorly on offense.
Despite a 17-1 win over Baltimore Saturday that halted a four-game slide, the Red Sox batters entered Sunday slashing .233/.312/.354 collectively and ranked in the bottom quarter of MLB in most key metrics.
“Ultimately, responsibility for the performance on the field, it falls on me as the leader of baseball operations,” Breslow said. “But so, too, does the responsibility for doing everything I can and the organization can to find solutions. And right now we feel like this change, these changes were warranted.”
Kennedy said Breslow has “made several bold decisions and recommendations.”
"And this was one of them and we fully support it.," he said.
Henry remained in Baltimore Sunday but did not address the media.
“I think it’s evident by his presence here that this was a collaborative decision (with Henry),” Kennedy said.
Tracy makes his MLB managerial debut after six seasons guiding Triple-A Worcester. The son of longtime manager Jim Tracy, he recognized the delicate dynamics of his opportunity.
“I’m toeing that line of sitting here with all of you in this moment, but also acknowledge the relationship with some of the people that are no longer here was strong,” Tracy said. “And you also know that that’s, in a lot of ways, that’s how some of the players feel as well. So, excited, right? But also honoring the people that were before me that were mentors to me.”
Story praised Tracy’s “baseball mind,” but was clearly still emotional about Cora’s firing.
“He had our backs every single day,” Story said. “He was very truthful with players and took bullets for us and did everything you can ask for and more as a manager. I just can’t express how thankful I am to have played for him. Yeah, I’ve got a love for that guy.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow speaks during a press conference with President & CEO Sam Kennedy, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Boston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy speaks during a press conference, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Boston Red Sox's Trevor Story runs to the dug out after scoring during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
BERLIN (AP) — When Jürgen Klopp surveys the Bundesliga upon his return as Germany coach, he could be forgiven for sneaking a look elsewhere for excitement.
A new season of Germany’s top division starts Friday, but little will have changed from before with Bayern Munich expected to saunter to another league title with minimal opposition. It would be Bayern’s third in a row and 14th in 15 seasons.
The Bavarian powerhouse’s dominance overshadows the league with Bayern treating the competition as a warmup for the Champions League.
“The battle for starting spots at FC Bayern is more exciting than the race for the German championship,” former West Germany great Lothar Matthäus wrote in a column for Sky, where he predicted Vincent Kompany’s team would again win the Bundesliga by more than 10 points.
Bayer Leverkusen’s league and cup double while remaining unbeaten in 2024 is the only blot on Bayern’s record since Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back titles in 2012.
This season, Klopp’s former club is rebuilding after a summer of change, as is Leverkusen for the second year after its unprecedented success under Xabi Alonso.
Stuttgart is the most settled of Bayern’s rivals in what will be its fourth full season under coach Sebastian Hoeneß, but the gulf in class and resources between the sides is again likely to be too much.
Bayern routed Stuttgart 3-0 in the German Cup final in May with Harry Kane hitting a hat trick to take his season tally to 61 goals.
Kane will be keen to get off the mark again when Stuttgart visits Munich for the season opener on Friday.
Bayern is expected to be even stronger in Kompany’s third season as coach.
Morocco forward Ismael Saibari has arrived from PSV Eindhoven to boost an already fearsome attack including Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Díaz.
Germany defender Nathaniel Brown has arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt and has already filled in in midfield with Saibari still nursing an injury from the World Cup.
Bayern also finalized the transfer of Senegal teenager Bara Sapoko Ndiaye from Gambia All Stars. The promising 18-year-old midfielder is expected to feature more following the departure of Leon Goretzka.
Jamal Musiala is back after missing much of last season with a broken leg, though it remains to be seen how he and the club deal with the neurological issue that caused him to collapse during two warmup games after a change in medication.
Dortmund’s rebuilding started long before the summer with new sporting director Ole Book arriving from Elversberg in March to replace Sebastian Kehl, who departed after reported disputes with managing director Lars Ricken. Carsten Cramer took over from Hans-Joachim Watzke as CEO in October.
Book inherited a squad in drastic need of change and has had a busy summer, bringing in attack-minded midfielders Konstantinos Karetsas, Joey Vermaan and Giannis Konstantelias from Genk, PSV and PAOK, respectively, to replace Karim Adeyemi (Barcelona) and Julian Brandt (Ajax).
Young defenders Joane Gadou and Kaua Prates arrived from Salzburg and Cruzeiro, respectively, while Ecuadorian midfielder Justin Lerma and Japanese teenager Takato Yamamoto will also have opportunities to shine under coach Niko Kovač.
A proposed move for Said El Mala broke down over Cologne’s demands for the teenage star.
Brand was among several players including Salih Özcan and Niklas Süle whose contracts expired. Julien Duranville and Cole Campbell also departed, while Brazilian defender Yan Couto was allowed join Como on loan.
More transfers are expected before Sept. 1.
After enjoying so much success under Xabi Alonso in 2024, Leverkusen has turned to another Spanish coach, Carles Martínez, who led Toulouse to mid-table finishes over three seasons in the French league.
Leverkusen’s first season without Alonso was rocky and disappointing. Erik ten Hag had a brief and turbulent spell in charge, then Kasper Hjulmand could only lead the team to sixth.
Martínez will be charged with a top-four finish for Champions League qualification.
Eintracht Frankfurt, Leipzig and Stuttgart are also expected to challenge for the financially lucrative top-four places.
Adi Hütter is back as Frankfurt coach to calm the waters after Albert Riera’s volatile tenure last season. Riera fell out with players, team officials and fans, then blasted the club after he was fired and said he would not take any Frankfurt players for future projects. Riera led Frankfurt to eighth, just outside the European qualification places.
Leipzig fired its coach after finishing third last season, so the pressure is on Martin Demichelis to do better. He’ll have to do it without Yan Diomande, who joined Real Madrid in a big money move. Christopher Nkunku has returned to help fill in.
Schalke is back in the Bundesliga after three seasons away, meaning more work for local police with the Ruhr derby back on against Dortmund.
Miron Muslić’s team will aim to last longer than the solitary season that Schalke managed upon promotion in 2022, though there are fears of an over-reliance on veteran forward Edin Džeko, who’s staying on for another year.
Paderborn and Elversberg are the other promoted sides. Both will be -- like Schalke -- fighting for survival in the 64th Bundesliga season. While Paderborn was promoted before, in 2014 and 2019, it’s the first time for Saarland-based Elversberg, which was playing at the fourth-tier level in 2021-22.
Even if the Bundesliga title race feels predictable, the battle for survival and European qualification will be anything but.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Dortmund's Fabio Silva celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)
Dortmund's Ramy Bensebaini takes the ball after scoring a goal that was disallowed for offside during the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayern's Harry Kane, left, and Michael Olise celebrates after winning the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup soccer match against Borussia Dortmund in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Germany's new head coach Juergen Klopp, center, attends the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayern's Harry Kane holds the trophy after winning the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
