Manny Ramirez Expresses Interest In Joining John Farrell In Toronto

Now that John Farrell has officially been named the new manager of the Blue Jays, the focus obviously shifts to wondering whether or not Manny Ramirez will join him. Wait, what? 

Ramirez, never shy about selling himself for his next job in baseball, spoke with ESPN Deportes shortly after Farrell's introductory press conference on Monday, making it clear that "Farrell is a manager for whom I would like to play."

"John has tremendous knowledge of the game, a very pleasant man and he trains ballplayers," Ramirez said in a telephone interview with ESPNdeportes.com from his Miami home.

"Toronto has made a great acquisition. Farrell is a manager for whom I would like to play, and Toronto is a team I've liked since they had all those Dominican players in the '80s," Ramirez continued.

Farrell and Manny were together in Boston in 2007 and most of 2008, before the Red Sox traded Ramirez to the Dodgers. 

Ramirez, who spent the 2010 season playing just 90 games split between the Dodgers and White Sox, becomes a free agent after the World Series. He hit nine home runs while slugging .460 with a 138 OPS+ this year. His playing time was limited because of knee and groin injuries, but says, "I still have a lot of baseball left in me," admitting that his role would likely be reserved to just a designated hitter.

Blue Jays Officially Name John Farrell As New Manager

In a press conference held Monday, the Blue Jays introduced John Farrell as their new manager, making official the move that had been expected since Thursday.

Wearing the number 52, Farrell spoke about his plans for the future with the Blue Jays, as well as his years with Boston.

Very complimentary of the Red Sox' way of doing things, Farrell called his time with Terry Francona as a "tremendous learning experience."

Farrell has already started building his coaching staff by retaining the services of Toronto third base coach Brian Butterfield and pitching coach Bruce Walton, while talks are ongoing with hitting coach Dwayne Murphy.

Farrell will replace Cito Gaston, who retired this year after two-and-a-half years with the Blue Jays.

John Farrell Reportedly Confirms Blue Jays Move In Text Message

While the Blue Jays have yet to officially confirm any move, John Farrell will indeed be the team's new manager, according to ... John Farrell. 

WEEI.com is reporting that Farrell sent them a text message, confirming that he is the Blue Jays' new skipper. The announcement will be made in a press conference at 3 P.M. Monday afternoon. 

Farrell has served as the Red Sox' pitching coach since 2007. 

John Henry: 'Farrell Will Be Missed'

It appears now that the Toronto Blue Jays have officially hired Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell as their manager as Red Sox owner John Henry has wished publicly wished Farrell luck.

"The Jays are getting a great baseball man and a great person,'' John Henry wrote in an e-mail to the Boston Globe of Farrell. "We were able to keep John as a part of our organization longer than a couple of other teams would have wanted, but it really is time for John to step up to the next level."

Farrell, 48, has been in the Red Sox organization since 2001 helping with player development.  Henry believes that Farrell has become an extraordinary coach and well transition well into being an MLB manager.

"He will be an effective, excellent manager," Henry said of Farrell. "I expect him to manage in MLB for as long as he wants to. He's going to an excellent young team with a strong and smart hierarchy. The Blue Jays are going to be a force in the AL East for some time to come. I am grateful for the years John Farrell gave to the Red Sox. He will be missed.''

Farrell, along with fellow Red Sox coach DeMarlo Hale and Indians coach Sandy Alomar Jr. were all considered for the Blue Jays job according to ESPN Boston.

Blue Jays Offer Farrell Job, Hale Out Of Running

According to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, Blue Jays GM Alex Alex Anthopoulos has offered the managerial job to Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell and appear set on him becoming the new manager.

Multiple sources site that the offical terms of the contract are standing in the way of the official announcement from the Blue Jays that Farrell has excepted the job.

There is also reports that Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale is out of the running for the Blue Jays managerial hunt.  Either way, the Red Sox will probably losing a member of their coaching staff after this weekend.

John Farrell Reportedly Will Be Blue Jays' New Manager

According to MLB Network and NESN contributor Peter Gammons, the Toronto Blue Jays appear to have found their new manager in John Farrell, the Red Sox pitching coach. 

While the team has yet to confirm the hiring, Gammons says that multiple GMs "insisted John Farrell will get the Toronto job." Farrell will replace Cito Gaston, who stepped down as manager. 

Farrell served as the Red Sox' pitching coach for four years, tutoring the likes of Josh Beckett and developing the arms of Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz into Cy Young material.

Though, as Over The Monster points out, concerns have grown the past few years with Farrell, as Boston's pitching staff's ranking dropped from second to fourth to seventh to ninth in the American League. 

If Toronto does go through with hiring Farrell, this will be the second former member of the Red Sox coaching staff to receive a managerial position in the last two seasons. Bench coach Brad Mills became the manager of the Houston Astros last season.

Along with Farrell, Red Sox third base coach Tim Bogar and bench coach DeMarlo Hale were reportedly considered to fill the Toronto managerial position.