Alex Cora left the Boston Red Sox when they were 9-19. Now the team is at 14-21 under the interim manager Chad Tracy. So, improvement is far off, but does the blame only go to the team’s young brigade? Willson Contreras thinks so.

The Red Sox, since last year introduced a few prospects, and Contreras thinks their inexperience might challenge the team to get out of the slump. However, he was publicly countered by a Red Sox rookie.

“To me, that’s kind of an excuse: blame the young guys. But at the end of the day, we’re all playing baseball, we’re all pros. We all know what we need to do. I don’t think we’re doing a good job with runners in scoring position. When you don’t do that, you don’t score runs,” rookie Marcelo Mayer responded to Contreras’ statement.

It all started after Contreras was asked about the probable reasons behind the Red Sox’s slump.

According to Sean McAdam of MassLive, Contreras pinned some of the blame on the team’s young players, a group that includes Mayer, because they might not have much experience dealing with slumps. While Contreras might have suggested how the Red Sox’s roster lacks experience, the team’s 23-year-old rookie took offense.

Per Mayer, in a team game like baseball, collective effort matters.

The Red Sox’s two prominent rookies, Mayer and Roman Anthony, are hitting .244 and .231, respectively. On the other hand, veterans like Trevor Story and Jarren Duran are hitting .208 and .186.

Contreras arrived at Boston in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason and has arguably been their best hitter.

The 33-year-old is slashing .280/.387/.492 with seven home runs, 21 RBIs, a wRC+ of 142, and has already produced 1.5 fWAR.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Wilyer Abreu is also hitting well to start the season. He’s slashing .298/.379/.460 with a 131 wRC+. But other than that, most of the team has struggled.

Mayer himself has a wRC+ of 82, while 22-year-old Anthony is at 93 wRC+. In his first 11 games of 2026, Mayer was hitting .176 with one home run and three RBI. But then again, he, along with Abreu, finished with RBI in a 12-hit Monday night for the Red Sox against the Detroit Tigers. And the team effort showed when their 29-year-old veteran hit a three-homer, recording the team’s first opposite-field home run since April 1.

It was Jarren Duran, who went 3-for-5 in the game, and put the Red Sox up 3-2. 23-year-old Payton Tolle struck out eight, gave up two runs, one hit, and a walk to help the Red Sox take the opener of the series, 5-4. Yet, Mayer’s “runners in scoring position” concerns seemed true in their 3-1 loss this Sunday against the Houston Astros.

Their offense failed terribly, going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 runners on base through nine innings. It finished 0-for-11 with 13 left on base. Even the stat lines show that the struggles are collective.

Through 29 games, Duran was slashing .186/.246/.310 with a woeful wRC+ of 50. Trevor Story, 33, has a slashline of .208/.245/.310, a wRC+ of 44, and has produced -0.3 fWAR.

Meanwhile, Mayer’s public contradiction with a team veteran was not the end of the discussion.

“After Cora got released or fired, the guys got loose a little more, because I feel like the tension was gone,” Contreras added.

Just a few days ago, Trevor Story called out the Red Sox management for firing Cora.

“It’s up in the air what the true direction of the franchise is.”

Now, Contreras, too, feels Cora’s presence pressured the clubhouse.

Just a few days ago, Brayan Bello shared public discontent against Tracy for pulling him out of the mound. Garrett Crochet shared how Cora has paid the price for their inconsistencies.

Amid all this chaos, the latest exchanges between Willson Contreras and Marcelo Mayer are not portraying a positive locker room picture.

The Red Sox pitchers are adding to the struggle

Amid the offensive struggle and players fighting it out publicly, the Red Sox’s pitching staff is making things worse.

Garrett Crochet was the lead of Boston’s pitching.

Last year, he established himself as an elite starter, going 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and 255 strikeouts over 205.1 innings across 32 starts. He led MLB in total strikeouts and earned his second consecutive All-Star selection. But in 2026, he has yet to showcase his worth.

Currently, he is at a 6.30 ERA and has recorded just 37 SOs. And the worst part is, he is now out with an injury.

The big lefty was placed on the 15-Day Injured List towards the end of April. Then comes Ranger Suárez.

The Red Sox signed him this year for a 5-year and $130 million deal. Result? He started the season slowly, securing 32 SOs and a 2.77 ERA, and he is out with right hamstring tightness.

Then other names like Brayan Bello and Johan Oviedo are struggling with a 9.12 ERA and 9.82 ERA, respectively. The only hope in this pitching staff is probably Aroldis Chapman, who has a 0.77 ERA so far in the season.

In fact, on Monday night’s game against the Tigers, Chapman pitched a hitless ninth for his seventh save of the season and 373rd of his career.

With injury concerns and pitching struggles, Boston has relied on young arms here, as well. Connelly Early (24) and Jake Bennett (25).

While Early’s outlook is not that bright, especially with his 11.25 ERA from the last 7 days, pitching on Sunday against the Houston Astros. In his 4 innings pitched, the 24YO allowed 6 hits, 5 runs, and one homer. Comparatively, Bennett is still better.

Following his 0.86 ERA in five starts in Triple-A, he was promoted to the big leagues this Saturday against the Astros. And he lived up to the expectation, pitching 5 innings and allowing only one earned run.

Clearly, as Mayer indicated, it’s all a mix-up and a team identity. Now, with 29-year-old Jovani Moran set to start Tuesday’s game against the Tigers (2.33 ERA) at Comerica Park, Boston may be running high on hopes.