When the Red Sox and manager Terry Francona parted ways, Blue Jays skipper John Farrell was the preferred candidate to manage the team, a major league source told Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. There's conflicting information on how much the Red Sox have explored this possibility but they've internally considered a few managers and the one who would fit best would be Farrell. One source said the BoSox wouldn't want to give compensation to a division rival while another thought the issue already had been brought up and the discussions didn't get very far.
The Red Sox have been hesitant to turn to bench coach DeMarlo Hale for the job because of a feeling that he’s too close and tied into Francona, but Cafardo notes that Farrell also learned his managerial style from him. Farrell took the Toronto job because it appeared that Francona was deeply entrenched in Boston. Had he known that Francona and the team would part ways, Cafardo wonders if he would have stayed. Here's more from Cafardo..
- Free agent shortstop Jimmy Rollins will have to back off from his desire for a five-year deal for the Phillies to seriously consider re-signing him. They probably won’t be interested in free agent Jose Reyes because of his price tag. If they don't retain Rollins, the club may find a cheaper stopgap to replace him such as Marco Scutaro if the Red Sox don’t pick up his option ($6MM club/$3MM player, $1.5MM buyout).
- Phillies right-hander Roy Oswalt could become available in free agency as he is due $16MM on a mutual option and the team will likely either buy him out for $2MM or try to negotiate a lesser deal. If he becomes a free agent, one major league talent evaluator said that he would be a great acquisition for anyone on a two-year deal, but obviously not at a $16MM rate.
- In the event that the Red Sox decide on Farrell and reach agreement with the Blue Jays, there are an endless number of candidates the team could hire to replace him. Those options include current bench coach Don Wakamatsu and third base coach Brian Butterfield.
- Since the Padres have allowed Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod out of their respective contracts, Cafardo wonders if they'd let Bud Black walk to become the Red Sox's next manager. Black could straighten out the pitching staff and got the most out of John Lackey as pitching coach for the Angels.
- Francona probably needs to sit out a half-year before taking on another managerial job sometime next season. In the meantime, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he took on a job as a special assistant. An American League GM said that the former Red Sox skipper would have "an endless number of opportunities" along those lines.
- DeMarlo Hale has a year remaining on his contract and eventually he'll meet with new GM Ben Cherington to determine his fate. Hale hopes to interview for the Sox managerial job and could also could be a candidate with the Cubs under Theo Epstein. Davey Johnson is still expected to return to the Nationals job but there may be an interview process and Hale will likely be a candidate given the strong backing he’ll receive from Nats special adviser Bob Schaefer.
- Don't be surprised if Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum emerges as a top candidate for the Boston job.
