Red Sox hire Juan Nieves as new pitching coach

The Red Sox are reportedly favoring Juan Nieves as their next pitching coach.

John Farrell thinks Red Sox can be competitive in 2013

John Farrell is optimistic about the Boston Red Sox' chances in 2013, saying that his team has the talent to make it to the postseason in his first season with the club.

Boston's new manager had good things to say about his new squad, saying that despite the team's catastrophic performance under Bobby Valentine that saw the team finish in last place in the division, they have the talent to make the playoffs next year.

"With the roster that's there now, there's a core group there that you can build around," Farrell said. "I think a couple of things will need to happen [to contend in 2013]. Certain players return to the form and the performance that they’ve established for themselves, and not just a one-year situation -- guys who have estabilished a cereer path and a career recod of being above average and get the guys back who were taken out because of injury, to get them back fully healthy and then whatever additions are brought forward into this group, I think this has got an opportunity to be a fairly quick turnaournd and get to the point of contending next year."

The Red Sox made the playoffs all but one season between 2003 and 2009, famously winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007, but haven't been back since 2009. The team hoped Valentine would right the ship after collapsing to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row in 2011, but that backfired horribly, as the 2012 Red Sox finished in fifth place in the AL East for the first time since 1994, with their 69-93 record their worst performance winning percentage-wise since 1965.

Farrell's teams didn't make the postseason in either of his two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.

John Farrell introduced as new Red Sox manager Tuesday

John Farrell was introduced as the 46th manager of the Boston Red Sox Tuesday at a press conference at Fenway Park. Farrell's Boston introduction came a few days after his new team, and his old team, the Toronto Blue Jays, confirmed a trade. Farrell takes over for Bobby Valentine, who was fired after leading the Red Sox to a disappointing 69-win season.

At the presser, Farrell made three things clear: One, he wanted the job, two, he will run a team that is aggressive, and three, he will make clear to his players that he's the one in charge.

Last season Farrell helped the Blue Jays compile a 73-89 record and finish fourth in the American League East Division standings in his first season at the helm. From 2006-10, Farrell served under former Red Sox manager Terry Francona as the Red Sox's pitching coach. Farrell feels his familiarity with the organization will help with the transition process, via The Boston Globe:

"Boston is in my mind the epicenter of the game. To come in and have at least four years of experience previous, not having sat in the seat, but to be close to it, that energy and what people expect holds people accountable for the effort they put out every single night."

Farrell said one of the biggest things he will do as a manager is win the respect of his players – something many believe Valentine never did, and Francona lost over time:

"It's something that you earn, you develop, and you have to maintain it with a consistent approach. That doesn't mean it's always going to be rosy. There's going to be challenges, there's going to be tough conversations to have with individual players, but I think the willingness to have those conversations and to be candid and upfront, that's where you can earn that trust, day in and day out."

General Manager Ben Cherington praised Farrell and said the working relationship between the two can help lead to a winning franchise.

John Farrell to be introduced as Red Sox manager at press conference on Tuesday

John Farrell will be officially introduced as the new manager of the Red Sox at a press conference Tuesday.

Red Sox officially acquire manager John Farrell, sign him to 3-year contract

The Red Sox sent shortstop Mike Aviles to Toronto as part of the transaction, with David Carpenter coming from the Blue Jays to Boston.

John Farrell hire: Red Sox reportedly to receive David Carpenter from Blue Jays

The Boston Red Sox will receive pitcher David Carpenter from the Toronto Blue Jays to complete the compensation for the Red Sox's hiring of manager John Farrell, according to WEEI's Alex Speier.

The Red Sox hired Farrell on Saturday. In return, the Blue Jays received infielder Mike Aviles.

Carpenter, 27, has appeared in 67 games in the major leagues. The right-handed reliever has a 5.70 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP in 60 career innings pitched.

Last season, Carpenter appeared in 30 games for the Houston Astros before he was traded to the Blue Jays. With Toronto, Carpenter gave up nine earned runs in 2⅔ innings pitched.

Carpenter was drafted as a catcher by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 draft but was converted to a reliever.

The West Virginia native has had trouble with control since landing in the big leagues, but he hasn't struggled with striking out batters. He has 29 walks and 60 strikeouts in 60 innings.

John Farrell a safe, solid start to rebuilding for Red Sox

The Red Sox got their man in John Farrell, and more importantly, they went about getting him in the right way.

Report: Red Sox will send Mike Aviles to Blue Jays for John Farrell

According to Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Red Sox will be sending middle infielder Mike Aviles to the Toronto Blue Jays as part of the trade that landed them manager John Farrell. Bradford also states that the Blue Jays will still need to send a play or cash to the Red Sox in order to finalize the deal.

Aviles hit .250/.282/.381 for Boston last season after being acquired from the Kansas City Royals in 2011 for Yamaico Navarro. Aviles played in 136 games for the Red Sox last season, including 128 starts at shortstop. Jose Iglesias started the second most games at shortstop last season for the Red Sox, and he hit an abysmal .118/.200/.191 in 77 PA. Ivan De Jesus is listed as the third shortstop on the Red Sox depth chart, with Pedro Ciriacao as another potential in-house option to replace Aviles at shortstop next season. De Jesus was sent from the Dodgers as part of their blockbuster trade with the Red Sox, while Ciriaco signed as a free agent last off-season.

Report: Boston will receive player, send MLB infielder to Toronto for John Farrell

Although the specific details of the Red Sox/Blue Jays trade are not finalized, some details are starting to leak about the trade for new Boston manager John Farrell. Jon Morosi sent out the following tweets about the trade.

Source: In John Farrell trade, it appears one player will go in *each* direction. So #RedSox will get a player from #BlueJays too.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 21, 2012

Source: Player going from #RedSox to #BlueJays was a major leaguer in 2012.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 21, 2012

I'm told #BlueJays are getting an infielder. And no, not Will Middlebrooks.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 21, 2012

This deal is starting to look similar to the trade the Cubs and Red Sox made last season, which sent Theo Epstein to Chicago and both teams swapped minor league players. In this trade, however, the Boston Red Sox are sending a major league infielder, but not Will Middlebrooks (and presumably Dustin Pedroia). That leaves Jose Iglesias, Mike Aviles, Ivan De Jesus and Pedro Ciriaco as the potential players being sent by Boston to Toronto to complete the transaction.

Boston Red Sox reportedly hire John Farrell as new manager

John Farrell has reportedly been hired by the Boston Red Sox as the team's new manager. Farrell is a former Red Sox pitching coach and managed the Toronto Blue Jays for the past two seasons.