Alex Cora on Red Sox projected to finish last: ‘The way we played last year, I don’t blame them’

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The experts aren’t too high on the 2023 Red Sox.

Fangraphs’ ZiPS Projected Standings, for example, predicts the Red Sox to finish last in the AL East with a 79-83 record (.488 winning percentage).

“I mean, the way we played last year, I don’t blame them,” manager Alex Cora said here at JetBlue Park on Tuesday when asked about those projecting Boston to finish last.

The 2022 Red Sox went 78-84 and finished last in the AL East. It was their second last-place finish in three years under chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.

Bloom turned over the roster significantly this offseason. There are 16 new players on the 40-man roster.

Thirty-two players — including Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Wacha — who appeared in games for the 2022 Red Sox are no longer with the organization.

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Boston added several interesting players, including Justin Turner, Masataka Yoshida, Kenley Jansen, Adam Duvall, Chris Martin and Corey Kluber.

Cora was asked his message to fans.

“Just get better,” Cora said. “I’m not gonna come here and say that we’re gonna play Nov. 5, or whenever Game 7 or Game 6 of the World Series is. But we’re going to get better. I always say, we’ve got a good baseball team, you know. We’ve got a bunch of guys that have done it before. Some of them they’ve been together in other venues and they were successful. Hopefully, we can accomplish that here in Boston.”