Red Sox ask to talk to former pitching coach John Farrell
As the search for a new manager presses on, it has been reported by an official that the Boston Red Sox have asked to talk to Toronto Blue Jays’ manager John Farrell.
The official, who wishes to remain anonymous, confirmed the rumor to the Associated Press on Friday night.
It has also been reported that the teams are discussing compensation if Farrell, who has one year left on his Blue Jays’ contract, is hired.
Before he moved to Toronto, Farrell was the Sox pitching coach from 2006 to 2010. Boston had shown interest in him after Terry Francona left, but the Blue Jays’ wouldn’t allow him to leave at that time.
Besides Farrell, the Sox have interviewed San Diego Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus, New York Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach and Baltimore Orioles third base coach DeMarlo Hale. General Manager Ben Cherington had also added that he wants the search for the new manager to be shorter this year than it was last year.
In case you needed to be reminded, the Red Sox finished in last place in the AL East this year with a dismal 69-93 final record, their worst in about 50 years.
The Red Sox starters had subpar seasons, especially Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, who was traded to the Dodgers on Aug. 25. Beckett was 5-11 with a 5.23 ERA at the time of the trade. Lester finished the season at 9-14 with a 4.82 ERA, both the worst in his seven-year career, so adding a former pitching coach might be a ray of light for the struggling team, especially one who already knows the ropes in Boston.
As of Saturday morning, no other information has been released on the status of the talks with Farrell, so all Red Sox fan can do is sit, and wait and hope.
