HOUSTON — In the aftermath of the Red Sox’s Saturday night bloodbath, Aaron Boone spoke with his good friend and now-former counterpart, Alex Cora.
While Boone did not divulge the specifics of his conversation, after Cora and five of his coaches were stunningly fired following a win in Baltimore, the Yankees manager called it a “really good talk.”
“I think somebody of Alex’s stature in the game, and obviously being a division rival and our chief rival, obviously caught us all off guard, shook the world — or shook us a little bit, like, ‘Who saw that kind of shake-up coming at this point?’ ” Boone said Sunday morning at Daikin Park, after having some time to digest the news that came out just before first pitch Saturday night. “He’s going to be fine and great. He’ll have many opportunities to do whatever he wants moving forward.”
Former Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson, who was an assistant hitting coach with the Red Sox, also got fired, along with hitting coach Peter Fatse, bench coach Ramón Vázquez, third base coach Kyle Hudson and major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin. Former Red Sox great Jason Varitek, who was serving as the club’s game planning and run prevention coach, was also “reassigned” to a to-be-determined role in the organization.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke with Alex Cora after the Red Sox fired him on Saturday. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
The Yankees may have had at least a partial hand in the gutting of the Red Sox coaching staff after sweeping them in Boston earlier this week. Red Sox decision-makers said Sunday they decided to fire Cora and his coaches Saturday morning.
Boone called Cora “a really good friend,” after the two spent time together at ESPN before they were hired by their respective teams entering the 2018 season.
The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his staff. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are expected to make their next rehab starts this week with Double-A Somerset — Cole on Tuesday or Wednesday and Rodón on Wednesday or Thursday. Cole is likely to build up to around 60 pitches while Rodón is on track to throw 70-plus pitches.
Paul Goldschmidt started at first base Sunday, with Ben Rice sliding to DH for the injured Giancarlo Stanton, and delivered a pair of doubles and an RBI. … Aaron Judge’s solo home run marked the third time in his career that he has homered on his birthday.