Boston’s Influence Grows as Roots of Red Sox Tree Spread

INDIANAPOLIS — The influence of Boston's recent baseball success is spreading throughout the majors. Here at the annual winter meetings, you can't turn a corner without seeing a former Red Sox employee meeting with the media of another team.

Here, it's Josh Byrnes talking about his role in a three-team blockbuster trade that brought Edwin Jackson to his Diamondbacks.

There, it's Jed Hoyer fielding questions about a potential trade for Adrian Gonzalez. 

In the media room, you'll find Brad Mills talking about his upcoming season as a rookie big league manager after taking the helm of the Houston Astros.

All three, and others who have left Boston to join the front offices of various major league teams, credit their time in Boston as an important part of their ascent to prominent positions with other clubs.

Hoyer is the latest to leave Boston, and he's now just weeks into his job as the Padres' GM. In fact, he brought scouting director Jason McLeod with him to San Diego. Red Sox Nation is hoping Hoyer will help out his old team by sending Gonzalez our way. Hoyer downplayed any thoughts of trading away the first baseman, though, saying he's a "perfect fit" for San Diego.

That said, he knows he'll pull off a deal with his mentor, Theo Epstein, at some time in the future. He just doesn't know how awkward such a process might be.

"For a little while, it'll probably be tougher for them than for me," said Hoyer. "I know all their minor league players. A lot of the time when you're making a trade you're depending on differences of opinion. I know all those guys. I was there when they came up. I know every little nuance about them. In that respect, it's a little harder. Also, Theo and I value players almost identically. So that makes it harder."

Hoyer might find it a little hard to believe he's running his own team at the age of 36. The same might be true for Mills, who has spent 22 years coaching and scouting, working his way to this point. 

For the past six years, Mills has been alongside his close friend Terry Francona. The two were also together for four years in Philadelphia and played together in the Montreal system. Mills says he's learned a lot from Francona, and that the biggest lesson was how Francona deals with his players.

"It is definitely going to be one of the biggest things I'm going to bring with me from Terry, because of that relationship," Mills said. "Terry knows how to balance that, that relationship with the players. Plus, when you have to tell a guy sometimes something he doesn't want to hear, I think Terry does a good job of that balance. And that's a big thing that I want to bring with me."

What both men bring with them is the experience of winning championships in Boston. It's clearly an experience that is now being valued by teams around the game. The roots of the "Red Sox tree" are spreading. It's the ultimate compliment to an organization that has brought together some of the game's best.

Can the organization be as good without men like Hoyer and Mills? We'll find out. We've seen the Patriots lose key coaches and player evaluators. Has that been part of the reason they have come back to the rest of the NFL pack?

There's no way to tell. We can tell you that a team is better with its best people, and the Red Sox lost a couple of good ones this fall.