Report: Red Sox To Pursue Farrell, Scioscia To Replace Valentine
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's already been widely speculated that if the Red Sox don't keep Bobby Valentine as manager in 2013, they'll try their best to pry John Farrell from the Blue Jays. Now, though, another name is entering the picture.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Friday that Valentine will presumably be fired at season's end, and Farrell, the former Sox pitching coach who's under contract for one more year in Toronto, will be their top choice to replace him, according to an anonymous "high-ranking official." If that doesn't work though, the Sox will turn to Mike Scioscia.
Scioscia is under contract with the Angels through 2018. However, after the team spent $240 million on Albert Pujols and $77.5 million on C.J. Wilson in the offseason but currently sits eight games out of first place and 2.5 games out of the second wild-card spot, the team could decide to fire Scioscia, who is the longest-tenured manager in the bigs. He makes $5 million per season, though, which would make such a move rather costly at around $30 million.
Whoever ends up as the next manager, Nightengale wrote that it certainly won't be Valentine in 2013.
"If they can't get either [Farrell or Scioscia], they'll be more likely to bring back Grady Little than keep Valentine," Nightengale quipped.
