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Farrell Reactions: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Aviles

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After months of speculation, the Red Sox finally got their man in Blue Jays skipper John Farrell.  Several names were floated about as potential bait for Toronto, but the Blue Jays wound up receiving shortstop Mike Aviles in the compensation deal.  Here's a look at some of the reactions to the move..

  • The loss of Aviles is not an insignificant one for the Red Sox, according to the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham. Aviles could have been a solid player off the bench next season, capable of backing up three infield positions and even playing some outfield, plus he was one of the most professional and accountable players on the team, setting an example for the young players, writes Abraham.
  • In a separate article, Abraham says now the Red Sox have their manager, the real work starts for GM Ben Cherington, who must fill in the holes on the roster and hire a coaching staff.
  • The Blue Jays were willing to let Farrell go in part because keeping him would have meant giving him a multi-year extension, and he hadn't earned that, writes Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star.  The club wasn't eager to do that in part because of the team's lack of on-field discipline in the 2012 season.
  • If Farrell is such a good manager, Scott Miller of CBSSports.com wonders why the Blue Jays would allow him to walk for relatively little.  However, Miller spoke with one highly respected person close to the Blue Jays who insists that Toronto's struggles were not Farrell's fault and that he will develop into a very fine manager one day.
  • There are suggestions that first base coach Torey Lovullo, third base coach Brian Butterfield, and extra coach Luis Rivera may now follow Farrell to the Red Sox, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. GM Alex Anthopoulos confirmed all coaches are "free to talk" with other organizations because none of them are under contract beyond this season, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.
  • The Red Sox deserve credit for being decisive and moving quickly to grab the manager that they wanted all along, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Boston's sacrifice of Aviles also seems especially mild given that the Blue Jays supposedly asked for Clay Buchholz in return for Farrell last winter.
  • Toronto was furious with what they perceived to be tampering on the part of Boston, but they were wise to move past it, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  Olney adds that Torey Lovullo is likely to be a prominent candidate for the Jays' managerial job as he is highly regarded in the organization.
  • With a new manager in place, General Manager Ben Cherington's neck is now on the line, opines Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
  • The Blue Jays would do well to turn around and hire Brad Ausmus, opines Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).  The Red Sox hiring team indicated to Cafardo that Ausmus was very impressive during the process.
  • Rules mandate that both teams receive a player in such a deal, but whoever the Sox get from the Blue Jays is expected to be marginal, writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
  • In getting Aviles as compensation, the Blue Jays seemingly followed the Lou Pinella-Randy Winn precedent from 2002, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
  • Look for Lovullo to join Farrell in Boston as the team's new bench coach according to an industry source, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
  • The reaction by current Red Sox players to Sunday's managerial hiring has been been completely different than how the team responded to Bobby Valentine's arrival in Boston last fall, tweets Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe.

Edward Creech and Daniel Seco contributed to this post.

Anthopoulos On Manager Search, Farrell, Aviles

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Blue Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos held court with reporters during a conference call this afternoon in the aftermath of the John Farrell–Mike Aviles–David Carpenter trade. Here are the highlights:

  • Anthopoulos wants to interview candidates he didn't interview when he hired Farrell in 2010 because he was denied permission to do so or they were unavailable at the time. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter) believes Tim Wallach and Manny Acta, respectively, fit that description. Davidi adds the search could begin with the three finalists Farrell beat out: Sandy Alomar, Jr., DeMarlo Hale, and Brian Butterfield, although a promotion for the Blue Jays' third base coach appears unlikely.
  • Anthopoulos will address the coaching staff once a new manager is hired, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.
  • Anthopoulos was prepared to enter 2013 with Farrell as manager. "We could have and we talked about it, and he was prepared to do so, as well, " said Anthopoulos (quotes courtesy of the Boston Herald's Scott Lauber). "The big thing here was the fact that once John had indicated this was something he wanted to pursue, it was his dream job, it just didn’t make a whole lot of sense to not at least see if we could work something out."
  • Anthopoulos said Red Sox owner John Henry made the first approach and compensation talks, which remained on an ownership-level, focused only on Major League players, tweets Davidi. 
  • Anthopoulos expressed his displeasure that there was "gamesmanship from a negotiating standpoint, not on our end," writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Anthopoulos, however, added neither he nor ownership have any issues with their Boston counterparts.
  • In the same piece, Anthopoulos called Farrell's leaving "a perfect storm of events" tracing back to the Red Sox's 2011 collapse and the departure of Terry Francona. "If that [September collapse] hadn't occurred, I don't think this story ever would have started, I don't think there would have been the interest, and I don't think we'd be talking today."
  • Anthopoulos sees new acquisition Mike Aviles "at a mininum" as a utility infielder, but he could also earn playing time at second base, tweets Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe.
  • David Carpenter was not going to make the Blue Jays' 40-man roster, according to Anthopoulos (via ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes on Twitter). Carpenter could find himself in similar situation in Boston, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com.

Red Sox Hire John Farrell

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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.

Quick Hits: Soriano, Blue Jays, Phillies, Rockies

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The Yankees will indeed make a qualifying offer to Rafael Soriano if he opts out of his contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  This morning, agent Scott Boras strongly hinted that the reliever would be opting out of his contract with the Bombers.  Rather than make a guaranteed $14MM for next season, Soriano will instead choose a $1.5MM buyout and the uncertainty of the open market.  Here's more Saturday night linkage..

The Latest On The Red Sox & John Farrell

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Yesterday we heard that the Blue Jays and Red Sox were "making progress" in talks about compensation for manager John Farrell. Those talks appear to be the biggest hurdle, as a contract between Farrell and the Sox should be no problem. Here are today's updates on the situation, with the latest up top…

  • It's likely that Farrell will wind up in Boston, but it's not a certainty that he will be the choice over Brad Ausmus, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB.com.  However, it now seems that the determination will be made by General Manager Ben Cherington.
  • There are indications tonight that the Red Sox are moving closer to a deal that would make Farrell their next manager, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
  • The Red Sox have asked to speak directly to Farrell, reports Jimmy Golen of the AP. That could be an indication that talks have progressed far enough that the two sides are talking about a contract.
  • WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that the Sox "hope to have a resolution on the manager in the coming days." The club could be motivated to get a deal done before the start of the World Series on Wednesday.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AL East Links: Cano, Farrell, Blue Jays, Ibanez

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On this date back in 2000, the Blue Jays gave Carlos Delgado the richest contract in baseball history in terms of average annual value, a four-year pact worth $17MM per year. Delgado hit .282/.405/.555 with 146 homers during the life of the deal. Here's the latest from his former division, the AL East…

Yankees Notes: Swisher, A-Rod, Cashman, Girardi

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Earlier today we learned that the Yankees intend to exercise Curtis Granderson's $15MM club option for 2013, and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the team is disinclined to explore a long-term extension for the slugger. Let's see what else is going on in the Big Apple…

  • The Yankees are still planning on making a qualifying offer of about $13.5MM to free agent Nick Swisher, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. However, the club will only do so in order to receive draft pick compensation and have no expectations of Swisher accepting the deal.
  • Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman told Heyman that he has no plans to shop Alex Rodriguez this winter. Furthermore, the GM doesn't seem to think that there's much of a market for the third baseman. "He's got a full no-trade, and his contract is what it is,'' Cashman said.
  • Yankees president Randy Levine confirmed to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that both Cashman and manager Joe Girardi will return in 2013. Heyman adds (via Twitter) that the status of the team's coaches will be up to Cashman and Girardi. Cashman told Heyman that as far as he's concerned, all of the coaches are safe (Twitter link).
  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post believes that Rodriguez will return to the Yankees and refuse to waive his no-trade clause as he stated last night. The highly-paid third baseman has been linked to the Marlins in recent days following his disappointing performance in the playoffs.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

East Links: Ortiz, Farrell, Guillen, Litsch, Red Sox

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The Red Sox and Blue Jays are making progress on compensation talks for manager John Farrell, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. A contract between Farrell and the Red Sox won't be an obstacle once compensation is agreed upon. Here is the latest from baseball's two East divisions…

  • Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reports (on Twitter) that the Red Sox and David Ortiz did engage in contract talks earlier this week. A few days ago we learned that the slugger was still seeking two years and $25-30MM.
  • The status of Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is expected to be settled early next week, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Club officials will meet in New York to discuss the state of the team.
  • Jesse Litsch still feels pain in his throwing arm and has started to think about his post-playing career, perhaps coaching or scouting according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. The right-hander had two surgeries this year and could have a third soon. The Blue Jays recently outrighted him off the 40-man roster and he elected free agency.
  • Orioles third base coach DeMarlo Hale is unlikely to get the Red Sox gig as the club apparently has their heart set on Farrell, writes Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com.
  • Meanwhile, Hale told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) that he believes that his interview with the Red Sox went well. The coach added that he's unsure of when he'll he might hear back from the club.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Blue Jays Notes: Farrell, Marcum, Villanueva

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Whether the Blue Jays keep manager John Farrell or send him to the Red Sox, the time has come to make a decision, argues Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi. The manager controversy is taking the Jays' attention away from more important offseason business, and Davidi argues that unless the Jays receive quality compensation in return for Farrell, it will make the team look bad to free agents. "An ideal sales pitch doesn’t include: 'Come to Toronto, this manager won’t flee to help our direct opposition,' ” Davidi writes. 

Here's the latest from north of the border…

  • There is still speculation that the Jays are eager to part ways with Farrell, with one team-connected source telling Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that, “The people there [in Toronto] would charter a jet to get him out.''
  • The negotiations between the Jays and the Red Sox about Farrell have advanced beyond the "preliminary" stage, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Cafardo broke the news yesterday that the two teams have begun to discuss how the Jays would be compensated in a possible trade of the manager.
  • As to what that compensation might look like, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe uses the Theo Epstein and Ozzie Guillen deals as models to conclude that "a pitcher on the cusp of being helpful to the big league team and a Double A prospect" will be suitable, with Toronto also sending "a non-prospect" back to Boston.
  • In a radio interview with Jeff Sammut of Sportsnet 590 The Fan (partially transcribed by Sportsnet.ca's Mike Johnston), Shaun Marcum said he'd be open to returning to the Jays as a free agent and cited his good relationships with the training staff, pitching coach Bruce Walton and third base coach Brian Butterfield. "They're on my list, that's for sure," Marcum said. "I enjoyed my time there, I loved the city, loved the coaching staff, so it's definitely a place that I would be interested in."  Marcum said he's willing to pitch anywhere and in either league, though he wants to pitch for a team with a chance at the playoffs.
  • Carlos Villanueva talks about his free agency, his late-season slump and the Toronto fans with MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.
  • As reported earlier today, the Jays claimed right-hander Tyson Brummett off waivers from the Phillies.

AL East Notes: Ausmus, A-Rod, Orioles, Red Sox

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Brad Ausmus has a supporter in former teammate Andy Pettitte, who tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that Ausmus would be a "great" choice to manage the Red Sox.  Ausmus is one of four candidates (along with Tim Wallach, DeMarlo Hale and Tony Pena) who have interviewed for the job, though the Sox are also negotiating with the Blue Jays about manager John Farrell.  Here's the latest from around the AL East…

  • Sources familiar with the Dodgers' and Marlins' plans tell Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that neither team has an interest in Alex Rodriguez.  The Miami source said that rumors about talks between the Yankees and Marlins about Rodriguez are "BS. [It's] not happening."
  • The Angels may not be interested in an A-Rod-for-Vernon Wells deal due to the salary differences and the fact that the Angels see prospect Kaleb Cowart as a potential starting third baseman by 2014, opines MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (Twitter links).
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun grades each member of the Orioles' roster.
  • As the Red Sox and Blue Jays continue to negotiate about Farrell, an anonymous AL East GM tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he isn't a fan of manager trades.  "I don't think it's a great practice to deal for managers. I'm surprised the league allows it," says the general manager.  "If the guy doesn't want to be there you just let him go. What's the big deal? You get someone else who does want to be there and who you feel will do a good job."
  • Gerry Hunsicker and Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman talk to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times about Hunsicker's decision to leave the Rays for the Dodgers.
  • From earlier today on MLBTR, I compiled some news about the Blue Jays.
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