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Blue Jays Became Willing to Make Deal for John Farrell Once Manager Described Red Sox as ‘Dream Job’

The Blue Jays wanted John Farrell to remain their manager. Farrell, however, wanted to manage the Boston Red Sox.

Farrell ultimately got his wish — with the Jays receiving Mike Aviles for their trouble — and afterwards, Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos admitted that once Farrell made it obvious how interested he was in the Red Sox job, the Jays had to explore that possibility.

"Once John had indicated this was
something he wanted to pursue, it was his dream job, it just didn't make
a whole lot of sense to not at least see if we could work something out," Anthopoulos said during a conference call Sunday. "We
would do what we could, but he also understood that we weren't just
going to send him there or give him away or let him out of his contract.
That wouldn't have made any sense for us."

However, that didn't mean Anthopoulos was necessarily happy about letting his manager go. He described certain leaks during the negotiations with the Red Sox as "gamesmanship" and apologized on behalf of the Blue Jays for how things played out late Saturday night.

"It doesn't mean I'm happy about it. It doesn't mean this is the way I
would have drawn it up. The fact is we have to do what's best for the
organization and we have to move forward."

The Red Sox have found their man for manager. Now, the Blue Jays will have to find theirs.