Now that Bobby Valentine has agreed to become the Red Sox' next manager, there's plenty of work for him to do -- in short order.
The winter meetings begin Monday in Dallas and the free agent shopping season is underway. But even before Valentine and the front office gets to work on reshaping the roster and filling some obvious needs (starting pitching, closer, righthanded outfielder), they must first assemble a coaching staff.
That may not be as complicated as it seems, however.
Four coaches from Terry Francona's staff remain under contract with the Red Sox for 2012 and it's a safe bet that the club would like at least some of them to return since, either way, the Sox are responsible for their salaries.
In fact, one industry source suggested it was quite possible that all four of the coaches could be part of Valentine's staff, though some may have re-assigned roles.
Pitching coach Curt Young returned to the Oakland A's after one season with the Sox, and Ron Johnson, who's deal was up, was let go. Earlier this week, he was named manager of the Baltimore Orioles' Triple A affiliate in Norfolk, Va.
DeMarlo Hale, who had served as Francona's bench coach the last two seasons following the departure of Brad Mills, is weighing an offer to coach third base for the Baltimore Orioles, but would also be welcome back to the Sox.
Boston Red Sox
Hale previously worked with Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when the two were in Texas and has worked before for new O's GM Dan Duquette, who was general manager of the Red Sox when Hale managed the team's Double A affiliate.
That leaves three holdovers: hitting instructor Dave Magadan; third base coach Tim Bogar and bullpen coachcatching instructor Gary Tuck.
Valentine would undoubtedly like to choose his own bench coach, but the Sox could easily have Hale return to third base coaching duties, with Bogar -- who has had some difficulty in the job -- shifting to first base, replacing Johnson.
Valentine could then hire someone with whom he's worked before as his bench coach.
Former Red Sox pitching coach Dave Wallace was one of Valentine's pitching coaches when Valentine managed the Mets from 1997-2002 and his name was mentioned as a possible candidate when Valentine went through his day-long interview last week.
Wallace is currently under contract with the Atlanta Braves as a minor league supervisor and lives in Massachusetts.
Rick Peterson, who has worked as the pitching coach for the Oakland A's, New York Mets (after Valentine's tenure) and Milwaukee Brewers, is available, but like Valentine, is a somewhat controversial figure. One industry source dismissed him as a poor fit for the Red Sox.