The Red Sox have announced the hiring of John Farrell as their new manager and his agreement to a three-year deal that will run through 2015. As compensation to the Blue Jays, to whom Farrell was under contract through 2013, the Red Sox traded shortstop Mike Aviles for right-hander David Carpenter.
The Red Sox confirmed in their press release they sought and received permission from the Blue Jays to talk directly to Farrell and made the agreement late last night. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter), that Farrell approached him one week after the season to tell him, if the opportunity to manage in Boston came up, he wanted to pursue it calling it a dream job.
"I’m extremely excited to be returning to the Red Sox and to Boston," said Farrell in the Red Sox's statement. "I love this organization. It’s a great franchise in a special city and region, with great fans, and we want nothing more than to reward their faith in us."
"We are thrilled to name John Farrell as our new manager," said Executive Vice-President/General Manager Ben Cherington, who made the announcement. "John has been a major league pitcher, front office executive, coach, and manager. His broad set of experiences, and exceptional leadership skills, make him the ideal person to lead our team. I have known him in various capacities throughout my career, and I hold him in the highest regard as a baseball man and as a person."
Aviles saw his role reduced towards the end of the season in Boston as the club slotted Jose Iglesias in as the starting shortstop for the bulk of September. The 31-year-old took a step back offensively in 2012 as he hit just .250/.282/.381 with 13 homers. In parts of five big league seasons for the Royals and Red Sox, Aviles owns a .277/.308/.408 batting line. Aviles, who earned $1.2MM last season, will head to arbitration once again this winter and is set to hit the open market after the 2014 season.
This marks the second time that Carpenter has been traded this year, as he went from the Astros to Toronto in a ten-player deal this summer. The 27-year-old appeared in 33 games for the two clubs last season, posting a 8.07 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. He also had a 3.08 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 23 Triple-A appearances.
Boston had been linked to Farrell, their former pitching coach, ever since Bobby Valentine appeared to be losing his grip on the club this year. Meanwhile, Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos repeatedly deflected questions about the possibility of Farrell returning to the Red Sox and even instituted a club policy of blocking personnel from leaving for a lateral move.
Two compensation deals for baseball decision makers were completed last season. Theo Epstein went from the Red Sox over to the Cubs' front office while manager Ozzie Guillen was traded from the White Sox to the Marlins. The White Sox received Double-A reliever Jhan Marinez and Triple-A shortstop Ozzie Martinez for their skipper. While both were ranked highly within the Marlins' farm system, neither player is viewed as an elite prospect. Meanwhile, the Cubs and Red Sox had a long protracted battle over what Epstein's compensation package should be before finally agreeing upon pitching prospects Chris Carpenter and Aaron Kurcz going to Boston for Jair Bogaerts.
Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (via Twitter) was the first to break the news of Farrell's hiring. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com first reported the inclusion of Aviles and, along with colleague Alex Speier, Carpenter.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
I wonder what the compensation was for the Jays. This could work out to be good for both teams.
in exchange for? hope the jays get good prospects.
If by Good you mean mid level prospect, then we got damnn good.
Y’all want Zach Stewart? We got him from cursed Bobby Valentine drama anyway
Not sure if you are aware but the Jays had Zach Stewart before. We sent him to Chicago in the 3 team trade with them and the Cards last year.
I had forgotten that, but hey! We had Farrell before, so it would’ve been a perfect match.
Wonder what we gave them.
Welcome to the Jays Lester ,Buchholz , Ellsbury , and Pedroia!…….
no going to happen.
You’re Smrt.
Very funny. More like Drake Britton and a pack of big league chew.
And a fenway brick
Just give us your grass , that’s more than enough compensation!
google ‘fenway brick’.. people actually bought those things. Though there is an equal chance its just a bag of balls.
Every time I’m by that gate I regret not buying a brick 🙁
Less than Drake Britton if the cost was only Mike Aviles.. Someone who was a goner over the off season anyway.
AA didn’t insist on Aceves also? Then Toronto could have had all the malcontents.
Nice. If the Jays got anything of value it’s well worth it. Wondering if the Sandy Alomar Jr. rumors are true?
I would not mind if SAJ was to be the Blue Jays’ skipper.
Breaking news, Sox give Aviles as compensation!!! Make sense, but I guess Escobar is headed out, huh?
That would make far too much sense for Boston.
makes little sense to get aviles if you’re the jays. escobar is better even in a bad year.
And in a good year, Escobar can actually play as a leadoff hitter… Something the Blue Jays are currently lacking.
trust me, he came up withe braves…he isn’t “better” in the dugout.There is a reason teams give up on him.
Escobar is better than Aviles…more like back to AAA for the 20th time Mike McCoy.
Calling it right now, Ruby De la Rosa is headed to the Jays.
Not a chance.
Jays fans are going to be so disappointed lol
enjoy watching your team run into outs in terrible situations, and with no consequences.
I did last year , when Farrell was the manager of my team, The Blue Jays.
wait til you see farrell manage lol whoever is your worst arm in the pen will become his favorite guy to bring in ala cordero, farrell is years away from being an average manager
I saw him manage , for the last two years.
Not even a little bit
taking bets?
this is funny.
Francona failed in his first stint as manager, Belichick failed in his first stint as a football coach. Don’t make too much of Farrell’s 1st stint. Remember, he didn’t get along with AA, so that factors into lack of success
Francona was hired in 04 and won a WS in 04 just saying.
Francona was the manager of the Phillies (97-00) before he was hired in Boston.
Oh I thought he was referring to his first stint as Sox manager. Not that the Phillies failures rested all on him from 97-00.
Seeing this headline didn’t shock me like I was expecting it to
Compensation must be pricey if Red Sox aren’t leaking it to the press.
Compensation that doesn’t come out for a while usually isn’t anything of significance.
Nah they just want to dig up some dirt first so they can give these prospects the proper boston sendoff.
Please not a real player, please not a real player, please not a real player…….
EDIT: Aviles? Could be worse, but I don’t like giving up a controllable guy with the ability to hit for power who can play three positions…
The sox are overflowing with infield talent in the minors and its not like they are contending next year.
Yeah the A’s might as well get value for Bailey and Gonzalez it’s not like they’re contending in 2012.
hit for power? where is this coming from? aviles? power?
I’ll take 10HR from my shortstop
not exactly power…no matter what position.
“Power” was admittedly a poor choice of words. He hits for Better Than Jose Iglesias.
So much for “We do not allow lateral moves”
They get compensation for him in this case. Quite different.
Even if it was for a more senior position, the fact that he’s in the middle of a contract warrants compensation.
They don’t allow them without compensation. They’re getting something so the policy still stands.
buccholz, bard, and boegaerts…the new killer B’s on the killer BJs
Even though club policy was broken, I’m more glad that the drama is finally over.
Farewell, Farrell, auf wiedersehen goodbye.
ahh… the mystery and intrigue is finally at its end. all that remains is what the compensation was. interesting that that wasnt leaked. sox seem like a pretty porous bunch (intentionally or not).
realistically i’d expect the return to be a bit better than the other recent manager/front office trades. you’d expect some kind of intra-division premium to be paid, and then there’s the question of whether any of the other coaches are moving with farrell. i guess we’ll find out just how desperate the sox were to make farrell their manager
One player going in each direction. Whippee!!!!
I liked a couple of the guys they interview more than I liked Farrell. At least he has a pitching background that staff has nowhere to go but up right…?
Farrell plus player will nets the Jays a player who was a major leaguer in 2012? Jon Morosi is tweeting this , hey maybe it’s not ALL bad?
Did you see half the guys the Sox trotted out there this season? That may not be saying much.
I still wasn’t expecting much lol But it did give some hope…
My bet is bard
Since when have the Red Sox been interested in Farrell?
Since Mo Vaughn was skinny.
I really don’t understad the worth of this manager. He’s done nothing in Toronto
It’s over! Praise the gods!
Well seeing as De La Rosa played one game I think this rules him out. If it was anyone well known I think it would have leaked already anyway. Probably a relief pitcher. As long as its not Tazawa I don’t care we got a ton of quality bullpen options.
Are sox fans content with this? Is alomar jr the favorite to take over at the rodgers centre?
Honestly, I think we all (Sox fans) just wanted a manager named. That said, Farrell was well respected by the players so it seems more of a “Sorry we stuck you with Valentine for a year” move.
Edit: As for the Jays next manager, I’d be shocked if they don’t already have a serious internal candidate.
That would make sense for the Blue Jays.
I think the Sox wanted Farrell as Titos replacement a few years ago, but Farrell left when he got an opportunity. They hired BV for only 2 years when most manager deals are 3 or more, and the year that Farrells contract was up..BV was expendable and almost seemed like punishment.
agreed. i would’ve been content with any of the candidates they interviewed. the only thing i was worried about was giving up too much for Farrell, which they didn’t. Aviles for Farrell is acceptable.
I think it’s a bad move for the Red Sox. There are plenty of quality managers on the market right now who can be had without compensation. I’m not as hard on Farrell as some but he isn’t amazing. Not sure why the Sox love him so much more than any of the guys they’ve interviewed, except for nostalgia.
I’d imagine Brian Butterfield or Sal Fasano are the favourites right now.
i know im splitting hairs here but its the rogers centre. its not called frenway.
At least give him credit for getting “Centre” right
Morosi tweeted it’s an infielder not named Will Middlebrooks. Ivan De Jesus? Mike Aviles? Pedro Ciriaco?
Sounds like Ciriaco to me. Who does Boston get?
Someone who’s destined to be a career minor leaguer.
My sentiments exactly.
It might be Adam Lind. Fills hole at 1B for Bosox.
Adam Lind
Yes if we could trade him for real grass that would be sweet lol but my guess is its a pitching prospect
“the player going from the Red Sox to the Blue Jays was a major leaguer in 2012, Morosi tweets.”
They said the comp was a major leaguer in 2012. Maybe Mortensen???
I believe it’s either De Jesus or Kalish.
Farrell and Escobar for pedroia. Just wait
I’d guess Farrell and Escobar for Aviles
what??? jays trade the better player and the manager??
Their seasons were almost identical… Not to mention that it became clear that the jays just wanted to dump escobar after the racial incident at the end of the year.
when exactly did that become clear? heard no such rumors at all.
and yes identical numbers, difference being that for escobar it was the worst season of his career. when right he is an elite 4+WAR shortstop. aviles will never be elite, or likely even above average. yunel is also younger and has more years of control.
why are you surprised?
Aviles is half of a problem (malcontent), Boston isn’t about to take on a full blown one in Escobar, who is a racist to boot.
I did realize that using a homophobic slur makes someone racist. Wow, learn something new everyday I guess…
id guess its time for your medication
Escobar is in the package to the Sox…(Please)
Take him lol
Are Jays sending Adam Lind to Boston?
If they do Kalish might be going to Toronto.
That could work. Give the kid a chance to revive his career. As for the Red Sox, why not? It’s not as if the free agent market is any better.
If I were Lind, I would hope to land in New York or Boston after Toronto. Both parks are friendly to left-handed hitters. Both teams can fit him into bottom 3 spots of the batting order.
It’s aviles? That’s actually… decent, sort of.
Aviles is going to Toronto
Where did you see it was definitely Aviles?
EDIT: Rob Bradford just tweeted it.
He’s just speculating.
Nope, Speier (and others) reporting it on Twitter.
Alex Speier from WEEI. It was on Twitter.
Confirmation or speculation?
Confirmed
I admit, that’s unexpected. I didn’t mind Aviles, but losing him versus losing a prospect seems like a minor win for the Sox.
I couldn’t stand watching him play (it was mostly irrational, but I couldn’t for some reason), and I can’t wait to see Iglesias play every day, so I love this move.
Also, FWIW, Bob Elliot is speculating that the player going to Boston with Farrell could be Lind.
Aviles makes perfect sense. Jays need a utility IF. Bosox have Iglesias & Ciriaco.
BTW, I suspect AA wants to shed Lind’s $5 Mil 2013 salary & $3.5 mil 2014 buyout.
Its either a 7mm salary or a 2mm buyout for 2014…
Aviles for Lind and Farrell. It’s a very far cry from Farrell for Buchholz.
As I said before, I didn’t mind Aviles, he seemed to have the same kind of offensive bursts that McDonald had for the Sox at one time. However, even though Iglesias didn’t seem to know how to hit last season, he did make some fairly impressive plays to make gambling on him to be worth while. It’ll be a bit like having Alex Gonzalez back at shortstop, great glove but an inability to produce runs.
Yeah, if that’s what it ends up being I like that deal (and I’m not sold on Farrell as a manager). And with Iglesias’ defense he wont need to hit much at all to be an average or better player.
With you on Aviles.. It was agony. He always had a nasty look at the HP umpire after striking out and generally his fault because he would chase everything to begin with.
Though Iglesias probably will get the nod to begin the season, he is going to have to hit in the + .200 range, or find himself back at Pawtucket by the end of May. Fenway faithful and the media will be wanting Ciriaco with more time on the field and Iglesias will have to hit at least some to stay around.
Boston fans may want Ciriaco, but that would be an absolutely terrible decision. Ciriaco’s defense is a joke compared to Iglesias’ and without the insane BABIP luck he wouldn’t be any better with the bat either.
Remember last ST when he was getting lots of reps at SS and was defined as “glove only” with speed, yet he was making error after error in meaningless ST games?
I was questioning his glove at short then, his speed looked nice.. Seems like he had a dozen or so SB during ST, but was making terrible throws, range didn’t look very good.. Just not something they needed to be starting, but a useful piece on the bench with his speed and ability to play every IF position.
iglesias may as well hit with his glove, because a bat does him no good
pedroi-er-uh
If the jays have shipped Farrell over to a team in their division. They better get a great compensation. At least now this place won’t be spammed with Farrell talk.
Meh, if they get anything they win the deal. Lots of good managers on the market right now that the Jays can get. I don’t have any problem with Farrell, but he’s not exactly a transformative manager.
I just heard about the Mike Aviles thing. He is what my prediction was around a month ago but the down side is that they are predicting to send over Adam Lind which I think is overkill. Mike Aviles doesn’t have much offensive value compared to Adam Lind, Lind showed great power and he had a better OBP. So give up the better player and a good manager. He is more of a defensive guy. AA is just putting more on his plate, now he has to think about a solid 2nd basemen, a good rotation and the shortstop mess.
Lind was free for anybody to take this season, and no one wanted him. He has no real positive value.
Bob Elliott of Toronto Sun just tweeted “Don’ be surprised if Adam Lind heads to Fenway”
well the good news about that is that we know who the sox manager is, and he never managed to figure out that lind couldnt hit lefties.
I suspect Boston taking Lind was part of Farrell compensation.
yea, the jays shed a bit of money and as a bonus create a bit of a middle infielder surplus with aviles, escobar and hechavarria under contract for next season. gives them more options in their pursuit of pitching and likely means that either escobar wont be back or hechavarria will start in buffalo
why? he’s owed not that much and he still hits righties well. i don’t see the value in taking on a 2b that is worse than what you had last year. even if escobar goes and johnson stays…the team is getting worse.
Aviles > Johnson. Just Saying. Aviles is definitely a better defender, and Johnson hit .225 this year with 16 homers. Aviles hit .250 in a down year with 13 Homers. comparable bats, if not a better bat with Aviles, and more speed. While Aviles’ speed isn’t necessarily base-stealing its still better than none.
Aviles is sub-par. Nothing special. I’m glad we gave him up. Perfect guy to go.
Aviles will probably be the utility infielder. Just like Jays made Mathis their backup catcher.
Rob Bradford of WEEI.com is reporting it’s Mike Aviles. I can live with that.
I was sure it was going to be Bard.
But we’re still waiting for the other shoe to fall. Someone from the Blue Jays roster is also going the other direction
the player the Sox are getting likely won’t be great. For the purposes of making it a “trade” there has to be a player going in each direction. This can be thought of, in as sense, as Lind (for example) for Aviles and the Red Sox also get Farrell.
Well… This is all over with and we have our 2B for next year. I can live with this.
So you see them holding on to Escobar? Or Hechavarria gets the call?
I see Hech playing in Buffalo next year
hope he is not at 2B. Bat doesn’t really play there. Hope they use him as the Utility IF.
Blue Jays hire Gregg Zaun as the new manager. Blue Jays win 162 games in a row with the philosophy of “Sinker, not Stinker”
At least we wouldn’t have to see his awful wardrobe between innings anymore.
i actually like his style except for those anti-don-cherry collar and windsor knot.
Extension:
Reported- Farrell and Lind to Boston for Aviles. The deal will be announced in the near future.
Just looked up Lind’s contract, he’s owed $5M next season and at least a $2M buyout for the season after that as a buyout. If Lind is traded then this move makes a lot more sense for the Jays as a salary dump.
While I am glad this saga has come to an end! However, what in the world are the Blue Jays going to do with Mike Aviles? The Blue Jays let the Red Sox off the hook once again! AA needs to hire former Viking and Cardinal coach Dennis Green to give them a pep talk. In that pep Green could state: They are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook! Maybe everyone involved could learn something here. Mike Aviles….come on man!
Aviles will probably play 2B while Esc/Hech plays SS.
It’s also a nice dump of Lind’s salary.
Escobar is traded….
Definitely, that is If AA is remotely concerned with building a contender, He will trade him for a Left Fielder or Starting Pitcher. Since we only have at most 3 of our 5 rotation members filled.
Yes!!! so happy I wont have to hear about this during the offseason! Well done Red Sox well done!
I’m liking this deal and it seems even. Red Sox name a manager who the players respect, take on salary they can afford, and drop a player who is at best just ok. Jays get a small salary relief, at minimum a utility player, and a chance to name a new manager.
It seems like a win-win.
I think it works for both teams. But, I won’t be surprised if both sides have a bad taste in their mouth.
BTW, although a few months ago, AA couldn’t give Adam Lind away for free, I believe Fenway Park & Yankee Stadium are two good landing spots for him to revive his left-handed bat that sends opposite field line drives to the warning track.
I admit I was preparing for the worst, such as the Sox giving up someone like Jackie Bradley Jr. But if the reports are true then it seems like a potentially good move for everyone involved.
Wow, you were nervous. I never imagined Jack Bradley. I saw Cecchini speculation and that didn’t make sense. As far as I was concerned, compensation had to address needs/wants. Not past precedents.
Heh, I’m old school. I tend to see worst case scenarios as normal.
Works for me.
The Jays can now make Aviles their everyday 2nd baseman and let Johnson walk off a plank, the 2 players are equally terrible but Aviles is cheaper and that’s what AA really values in a player.
And if Lind is the one going to Red Sox, that’ll be a nice 10 mil+ dump of salary to go chase a pitcher.
Lind Gets Paid 5 Million Next Year. He has expensive Options, but no way Jays exercise those. Will have to pay buyouts.
Plus even if it is Lind, and it’s a salary dump, if Ownership isn’t committed to spending we won’t get that Ace pitcher either way.
Exactly. AA’s definitely the next Billy Beane.
Not guaranteed to be 10+. Lind’s 2013 salary is 5 mil and 2014 is a 7mil team option with a 2mil buyout. So, could be as little as 7mil.
I was going off of the other guy’s post; if Johnson were to walk. Aviles over Johnson and Lind gone would be around 10 mil drop in payroll.
Exactly right. Cheap. AA doesn’t want to shock his parents by buying a shiny red sports car. So he’ll take the third-hand buick. Poor on gas but it runs just fine.
Don’t diss the Buicks, they’re tanks as far as I’m concerned
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Aviles will be the utility IFer. He plays excellent defence at SS.
Sal Fasano is the new manager of the Blue Jays. He did a great job with the kids in the low minors… and to be honest, the current Jays team isn’t too far removed from that “mindset”
Source?
No “source” per say, but it’s the most logical move.
Alomar Jr is just as, if not more logical.
How about a manager with actual MLB coaching experience. And I mean as head coach (manager).
Sorry but Ferrell managed the Jays for two seasons…
81-81 year 1 73-89 year 2 total of 154-170
Will Ferrell and John Farrell are very different people
Totally surprised….Not!
The Red Sox will promptly send Lind to the Dodgers.
I guess we know Loney is getting non-tendered now.
Farrell managed the Jays in 2011 also so it wasn’t his only year with the team. Boston tried the same move after the 2011 season but didn’t get a deal done.
When Farrell fails, who is going to want to interview with the Sox? They talked to Wallach, Ausmus, Pena and Hale knowing that they really wanted Farrell and that the others were just worst-case-scenario. Mere pawns.
Well I’m just glad it’s over and we can say we have a manager. He wasn’t my number one choice, but I liked Farrell. I guess it’s alright.
We’re totally going to regret not getting Ausmus.
As much as I say I’m okay with Farrell, I do say he’s not my first choice because for some reason my internal thoughts as soon as the list was made were screaming Ausmus. Not only that he played a premium position and has a wealth of on the field knowledge, but in his brief stint as special assistant in the Padres front office he must have learned quite a bit. They have a nice front office.
They better not hire another rookie manager. The Jays need someone that is experienced with actual leaderships skills.
Wow the Jays actually got Mike Aviles for Farrell? I love this deal!!!!!!!!!
That’s wayy to much excitement for Mike Aviles , even if he was for free.
thats awesome, we get rid of farrell, lind, and it seems like either escobar or johnson are on their way out. way to get rid of dead weight AA
Might as well just trade Joey to Baltimore for Reynolds, and take on A.Rod’s contract. I have no problem with farell leaving, but Boston clearly ended up the winners here.
Hopefully Beeston and Anthopolous are next.
It sounds like Jays get to choose who leaves their 40-man roster. Tyson Brummett? Mike McCoy? Joel Carreno?
It looks like whoever said “career minor leaguer” was correct.
I’m calling David Cooper, who’s blocked by Lind and Encarnacion. Not sure if he’s on the hinge, but he makes sense for the BoSox
I doubt Cooper is considered “fringe”. Had wRC+ of 114 on a team that uses Runs Created to evaluate offensive performance. Also has one season of optional assignments remaining.
I know, and that’s why I doubted him, but I know they’ll be pushing for a 1B in some form, and if its not Lind, it must be Cooper, unless there is another 1B that they would be willing to trade…
McDade
Funny how you mentioned McDade’s name. Last night, I made a mental note that he is the only player on the 40-man roster not to receive time on the 25-man in 2012. In addition, I also noticed his absence from the Arizona Fall League. Although AA has made positive comments about McDade’s progress, I don’t see other indications of high hopes for the guy.
Edit – Plus, there are a few other 1B prospects who won’t be able to advance until something is done with at least one of Lind, Cooper, and McDade. A similar situation exists with the OFers which is causing overcrowding at DH.
My guess on the fringe player heading to the Sox is Mike McCoy
Might as well have been Lind if the Jays would have paid around 5m of the contract and left Boston only on the hook for the 2014 buyout.
Not a whole lot gained by giving Lind up and still paying 5 of the 7 million
I agree. 2m.. They kept him on the AAA shuttle and seemingly have him phased out of a job anyway.. Aviles was sent to Toronto (not as a salary dump of course) mainly because he was being phased out and going to get moved over the off season anyway, Toronto probably could have gotten Boston to take 2-3m of what Lind is owed and he doesn’t really have any trade value.
Wouldn’t think his 40 man roster spot is even a lock thru ST even.
I’m just so happy this is over.
Me too. Cya David Carpenter lol now we need a damn manager again.
When it comes to managerial compensation deals, The Red Sox sure do love getting Carpenters to build on.
I thought there were gonna be a lot more comments on here like this, good for you for being the only one
Inside source says that Lind is close to heading to Boston