NESN

Jacoby Ellsbury’s Injury History, Emergence of Jackie Bradley, Jr. Will Impact Potential Contract Extension Talks

The Red Sox
are going along with their managerial search, quietly.

As opposed
to last offseason — when the team had candidates conduct interviews with
reporters — the Red Sox front office has ushered the interviewees in and out
of the offices without much ado.

While they
continue to evaluate all options, here’s this week’s mailbag.

I highly doubt the Red Sox will be able to pry away Felix
Hernandez from the Mariners. All season long, Seattle’s front office has been
adamant about keeping Hernandez. Given his strong finish — and perfect game — I bet he stays.

As for your second question, I believe there’s a possibility the
Red Sox will attempt to garner trade interest on Jacboy Ellsbury. With agent Scott
Boras backing him, he’ll likely request a Carl Crawford-type long-term contract
at the end of next season.

But Ellsbury’s injury history, along with Jackie Bradley Jr.‘s emergence in the minor leagues as a big-time prospect, could make contract discussions tough. So this offseason will be an
interesting one since Ellsbury would be an intriguing trade chip.

I’ve said this before and I’ll repeat it once again — ain’t
happening. The Red Sox didn’t rid themselves of Crawford’s and Adrian
Gonzalez‘s atrocious contracts to put themselves in a bind with another
long-term deal for an older player.

Josh Hamilton is 31 years old and isn’t getting any younger. While
he’s still talented, Hamilton also brings his share of off-the-field concerns,
considering the recovering alcoholic’s relapse last offseason. Hamilton is also
injury-prone.

In the end, I simply believe the Red Sox will be more
disciplined with how they spend money and avoid this situation.

Who do you think the next
manager is?
-@wordontheSweet,
via Twitter 

I can’t tell you that, but I do believe Blue Jays manager John
Farrell remains the team’s top target.

That said, I believe Tony Pena would make an excellent manager
for the Red Sox and should be strongly considered. For one, the Yankees bench coach
played in Boston for four years, so he understands the culture and tradition
here.

He’s also a catcher, so he comprehends the intricacies of
pitching and can still relate to the team’s hitters. Pena has cultivated strong
relationships with the Yankee players and is well respected.

I think his biggest
advantage is being bilingual. He’d be able to communicate with his
American-born players, but can also properly convey his thoughts and strategies
to the Latin players on the team.

On occasion, there’s a language barrier between players and
managers. But that wouldn’t be the case whatsoever with Pena at the helm.

Aside from his language skills, the 55-year-old demonstrated his
baseball acumen in 2003, leading the Royals to a .500 record as a manger and
winning the American League Manager of the Year award.

Think the Yankees will
trade ARod?
-@Carolynahil,
via Twitter

 With the season officially over for them, I think they’ll look
into a possible deal with the Marlins. It’s come to the point where the Yankees
need to get younger and trading Alex Rodriguez would trigger that process.

But if the Marlins are unwilling to accept the deal, it’ll be
tough for the Yankees to complete a deal. They owe Rodriguez $114 million
moving forward and no team would want to dole out that amount of cash.

They’ll have to eat a lot of that money up. Honestly, if it
comes to that, New York’s front office would likely rather keep the third
baseman and hope to capitalize on his power potential.