It's clear how much Alex Cora likes this team

A few hours before first pitch in the 2018 season, Alex Cora sat in the visitors' dugout at Tropicana Field and matter-of-factly proclaimed, "I like this team."

Since then, there have been other combinations of Red Sox players he believed could get the job done. Certainly, after the dust cleared from the 2021 trade deadline and that postseason run began, that year was a we-can-make-it-work kind of vibe.

But now, there is no mystery as to how the Red Sox manager feels about this current group.

Make no mistake about it: Alex Cora believes the Red Sox can contend and are certainly worth investing in.

"I know we’ve been talking about the Wild Card, but let’s get greedy," Cora said prior to his team's rain-out with the Blue Jays. "I think this brand of baseball we can maintain the way we’re playing. Let’s not settle for the third Wild Card. Let’s go higher and see where the season takes us."

"Let's get greedy."

It's a mantra Cora has dug into in recent days and one he certainly wouldn't introduce if there wasn't significant belief living life on the fence this trade deadline shouldn't be an option.

The Red Sox are currently tied with the Royals for the third wild card spot, one game in back of the Twins and seven behind the Orioles. As for the American League East, they are eight in back of the first-place Yankees (who have hit the skids of late, losing eight of their last 10).

It's still early in the world of trade deadline conversation and a lot can happen. Just ask the Cubs, who sat at three games under .500 this time last season with an 18.1 percent chance of making the postseason. Just more than a month later, they were trading for one of the most coveted bats on the market, Jeimer Candelario.

Or how about the Angels? On June 27 they were feeling themselves with a 46 percent chance of making the postseason, residing seven games above .500. They proceeded to lost 10 of their next 11 games, seeing their playoff odds drop to 9.6 percent.

But sometimes a flag has to be planted in the ground when it comes to the direction you believe a team is worthy taking. Cora has planted that flag.

"One thing for sure is the third Wild Card spot. … Let’s shoot for more," he said on the "Jones and Mego Show" Wednesday. "There are a few teams ahead of us that is struggling. There’s a lot of season left. … I believe this brand of baseball is sustainable. We can do this because we’re going to pitch and the athleticism is going to take over. So let’s play well the next two weeks, put us in a better spot and then I bet the conversations are more serious."

Cora has lived through the ultimate late-June attaboy from the front office back in 2018, getting the boost that was Steve Pearce's right-handed bat in a June 28 trade. After an initial loss in Pearce's Red Sox debut, the Cora's club went on to go 33-8 heading into the second-half of August.

Two years ago, on June 27, the Mariners traded for Carlos Santana. The immediate result? Seattle won 17 of its next 18 games.

Last year's example came in the form of Texas dealing for Aroldis Chapman on June 30. Spoiler: The Rangers won the World Series.

This time around, it figures to be a bit more difficult for teams to mark their territory via a deadline-defining June deal considering how few teams still are out of contention. It is the ultimate seller's market, leaving well-meaning clubs in the position of exorbitant rates to get the players they have targeted.

So, what is the next best thing? The manager making it clear that until an actual investment is made - either via a player or financial commitment - a good starting point is the kind of proclamations made by Cora Wednesday.

"There are three ways you can go: You buy, you sell and you stay put. And when you stay put there are going to be teams that added and they are going to be better than you," Cora said when discussing the trade deadline dynamic. "It’s not that your team is a bad team but the ones around you got better."

Translation: This team is worthy of eliminating any and all fence-sitting.

"They are at the point in their career that they are establishing themselves as big leaguers, so they don’t have time to be thinking if we get this guy, or get that guy," he added on the "Jones and Mego Show." "Obviously, the veterans, they always talk about it. But I think we’re young enough whatever happens in a month, month-in-a-half we’re going to be fine, we’re going to keep playing good baseball and we’re going to win a lot of ballgames."