SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- At first, the timing of this year’s Winter Weekend felt more than awkward for the Red Sox.

The club had been through the ringer the past few days after making the tough decision to mutually part ways with manager Alex Cora.

But once the festivities started on Friday, it was more therapeutic than the club originally envisioned.

“We’d be less than honest if we said this didn’t feel a little bit different coming off the events of the last week,” said Red Sox president/CEO Sam Kennedy. “That said, the first person, literally, I saw when I walked in to MGM Springfield here was David Ortiz. That always puts you in a good mood.”

Not long after, Big Papi and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez were sitting together on stage and trading jokes, answering questions and spreading good vibes during the town hall event.

“For me, this is my family, this is my base,” Martinez said. “This is where I feel safe. I would just say to our fan base, don’t listen to whatever is going on around us. We’re going to be there for you just like you have been for us. We love you. We care about you.

“Everything is going to be all right. Don’t listen to anything to distract you from being the most loyal fan base in all of baseball. I believe we’re going to be here next year doing what we’re supposed to.”

And by that, Martinez meant winning.

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“There’s not a better combination than the Red Sox fans and the Red Sox owners,” Ortiz said. “When I played, there was one thing I always noticed walking into Spring Training from the offseason. That was that our owners, Mr. John Henry, Tom Werner, those guys absolutely care about how much fun you guys are going to have in the season. They teach us as players how to be part of the community and how to be family for you guys and how to learn from you guys. Like Pedro said, we’re going to be all right.”

The halls of MGM Casino and MassMutual Center were packed with thousands of Red Sox fans who are ready for the end of winter and the start of baseball.

“There’s so many fans here to support us, which we appreciate, and it’s just a reminder of the passion and love and support for this team. And we’ve also had a lot of folks reaching out over the last couple of days with words of support,” Kennedy said. “We’ll be OK. We’ll get through this. We’re a resilient organization, we’re a family. This is our 19th year [of current ownership], and we’ve been through a lot in those 19 years. We’ll be OK.”

Fans cheered throughout the arena as the Red Sox players on hand were introduced -- a group that included Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Jackie Bradley Jr., Matt Barnes and more.

The events of recent days could prove to be galvanizing for the Sox.

“It’s been a tough couple of days for all of us,” Bogaerts said. “This is a year we have to stick together and prove what kind of team we have.”

“We’re excited about the season,” Werner said. “Last year, we were coming off a World Series and thought we would do better than we did. I think this team has a chip on its shoulder. I want them to go out and prove we are as competitive as we think we are. We have some great athletes on this team.”

That said, it has been a Hot Stove season in which the Sox haven’t made any marquee moves. But going back to an underdog role entering 2020 is something the team might embrace.

“We’re here and we’re ready to move forward with our fans. You just saw the lineup and it looks like another strong Red Sox team,” Henry said.

NESN analyst Jerry Remy, fresh off accepting the prestigious Emil Fuchs Award at the Boston Baseball Writers’ Dinner on Thursday, was back on stage Friday at Winter Weekend with his usual dose of enthusiasm.

“I can’t wait for the beginning of the season. I just love baseball,” Remy said. “I love watching guys like Devers play, watching Bogaerts play. I can’t wait for it to start.

“Right now, everyone is going to pick the New York Yankees. They’re a great team. They got better by signing one of the best pitchers in the game. But the fact is, nobody wins in the offseason. If Chris Sale can come back healthy, if David Price can come back healthy and our pitching is good, we have as good a chance as anyone else to win the division and if not, the Wild Card.”

It will be up to chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to put together a championship-caliber roster.

“I don’t think the Boston Red Sox ever sneak up on the baseball world, but if people are counting us out now, we still feel really good about the talent on this roster,” Bloom said. “We’ve got some time from now until Spring Training to work on that further, but this is a really talented group.”