John Farrell?s name is already being thrown around as a Bobby Valentine replacement

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We have no confirmation whether or not Bobby Valentine is a dead man walking these last few weeks of the season, but that isn't going to stop the Boston media from speculating on a potential successor.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes on Thursday morning that the Red Sox could again be interested in poaching manager John Farrell from the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays. Farrell was a person of interest when the Red Sox job was open last winter, but Cafardo reports that compensation talks between Toronto and Boston never went anywhere. Farrell is under contract for 2013 so the Red Sox would again need to send something the Jays way if Farrell decided he was interested in returning to Boston.

But why would the former Red Sox pitching coach want the gig? He just said he's "unequivocally committed" to Toronto a few weeks ago and a healthy 2013 Jays team looks to hold a lot more immediate promise than the dysfunctional situation that exists between Boston's ownership, front office and manager's job. Farrell certainly isn't as divisive a presence as Bobby Valentine, no, but he also saw how Terry Francona's exit was handled.

Honestly, why sign up for that possibility of grief when he might be on the verge of a turnaround in Toronto? *My hunch is that Farrell won't want that and we'll be talking why other potential candidates — if Valentine is indeed turned to toast — want the challenge come offseason.

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