John Farrell Rumored to Return to Boston

The latest rumors in the Red Sox managerial search has turned to a former Red Sox pitching coach, John Farrell.  The rumblings started late last night that Farrell, now manager of the Toronto Blue Jays was the latest suspect to be on the Red Sox manager radar.

The story really picked up some speed when Dan Shulman of ESPN tweeted that the Jays would not get in the way if Farrell wanted to return to the city where he served as the pitching coach for five seasons.

To quote Shulman, “To those who asked…if #redsox have interest in John Farrell and he wants to go, my understanding is #bluejays would not stand in his way.”

The latest news to break comes from Canada’s Sportsnet, the home of the Jays broadcasting network that says Farrell has gone on the record to state that he has no knowledge of the Red Sox being interested in him, he doesn’t want to comment on the situation and it’s business as usual with focus on the Jays.

So while it doesn’t reveal much at this point, it is worth asking the question.  Would John Farrell be a good fit for the 2012 Red Sox?

Last season Farrell, in his first season as the Jays manager and first as a major league manager, the Jays finished with a record of 81-81.  It was a slight regression from a year ago when the Jays finished 85-77.

None the less, Farrell could be just what this group of Red Sox need.  A familiar face who knows the organization and most of the players, but still has enough discipline and order to run a smooth clubhouse.  Throw in the fact that he has worked with most of the pitching staff for numerous years and suddenly Farrell’s stock just rose up a few points.

He is still under contract with the Jays until 2013, so compensation would most likely be wanted in return should Farrell decide to fly the coop north of the border.  Suddenly we’re back in the same rut that the Cubs and Red Sox are currently in and maybe this is too much drama for one year for the Red Sox owners.

None the less, aside from Joe Torre and Tony La Russa, who are both astronomical long shots at best, Farrell is likely to be the next candidate at the top of a lot of Red Sox Nation members list.

We’ll see what happens with this story over the next few days.  Given the media and attention this club gets in the offseason, this is not likely the last we’ve heard of this story.

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