Talks continued between the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays Friday, as the two teams attempted to resolve the compensation that must be settled if the Red Sox are to hire the Toronto manager, who has a year remaining on his contract.
A baseball source said discussions are going on between various officials in both organizations, to determine what might be suitable compensation, as well as other logistical matters.
It's possible that, should an agreement be reached over the weekend, Farrell could be introduced as the new Red Sox manager as early as Monday or Tuesday. Major League Baseball prohibits teams from making major annoucements during the World Series, which begins Wednesday.
For that matter, if the sides fail to make any progress in talks -- as was the case a year ago when Toronto demanded starting pitcher Clay Buchholz in return for letting Farrell out of his final two years -- the Sox could narrow their list of other candidates from four down to two and hold second-round interviews with the finalists.
In the last week, the Red Sox have interviewed Baltimore Orioles third base caoch DeMarlo Hale, San Diego Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus, New York Yankees bench coach Tony Pena and Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach.
While the Red Sox weigh their managerial options, one thing's for sure: whomever the manager is in 2013, he won't have Dave Magadan as his hitting coach.
Magadan, who had served as the Red Sox' hitting instructor since 2007, was hired by the Texas Rangers Friday to serve in the same capacity.
"I interviewed with a few teams,'' said Magadan from his home in Florida, "and Texas seemed to come to the forefront.''
Other teams who showed an interest in Magadan included the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Red Sox held an option on Magadan for 2013, but Magadan said general manager Ben Cherington was "professional enough to let me see what else was out there.''
Magadan said the uncertainty of the Red Sox managerial vacancy didn't necessarily contribute to his decision to take the Texas job.
"It had nothing to do with that, really,'' said Magadan. "I expressed to Ben at the beginning of this that I felt like I could work with anybody. This just seemed like the best opportunity for me.''
Under Magadan, the Red Sox had one of the best offeneses in the game for his first four years. The Boston lineups were known for their selectivity and patience at the plate and were annually in the upper rankings of A.L. teams in runs scored.
This past season, however, the Red Sox were far less successful in working counts, drawing walks and getting themselves into hitter counts, resulting in great frustration on Magadan's part.
On August 2, Magadan told CSNNE.com: "We foul pitches off. We chase pitches (out of the strike zone) to foul pitches off. It's one thing when you're seeing a lot of pitches and you're getting yourself in hitter's counts. But we're 0-and-1, fouling off a ball, then taking a strike, and foul off another ball. You're not really forcing pitchers to make quality pitches. You're chasing balls out of the zone and it makes his job a lot easier. Instead of having to make three quality pitches to get you out, he's only got to make one.''
"It's not for lack of work or lack of preaching it or talking about it. It's frustrating because I know we're better than this.''
The Rangers are known to pay top dollar to coaches they want to attract. Several years ago, they lured Mike Maddux from the Milwaukee Brewers by making him the game's highest-paid pitching coach.
Magadan's hiring was first reported by WEEI.com
