Some Things I Think I Think: Red Sox should remove ‘interim’ tag from Chad Tracy’s title

∗ Chad Tracy is six games into the job of managing the Red Sox, far too small a sample size to determine his strengths and weaknesses. That will take longer to determine. But if the Red Sox want to do the right thing here, they should remove the interim from his title and announce that the job is Tracy’s through the remainder of the 2026 season.

To date, upper management seems to want to keep its options open. Several times, they’ve been asked to clarify Tracy’s status for the season, and each time, provided with the opportunity to say they have no intention to hire someone else, they’ve declined to do so. The underlying message seems to be: We like Chad a lot, but hey, you never know who might become available....

All of which is unfair to Tracy . Already, he’s been given the thankless task of winning with a roster that his predecessor, a far more experienced manager, couldn’t make work. Tracy now has the reins, but he’s surrounded by a makeshift coaching staff and is being asked to save the season.

That’s a lot to put on the shoulders of someone who, only a week ago, was trying to get players ready to play in the big leagues. It’s understandable that the Red Sox are reluctant to commit to Tracy long-term. He still has a lot to prove and managing in Boston, particularly in your first major league job, is not for the faint of heart.