Frankly, the debate over John Farrell bores me.
The far more interesting question with the
Red Sox is whether president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will trade one of the team's two top prospects, infielder Yoan Moncada or outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
Dombrowski needs to improve the Red Sox's rotation, which is sub-par under Farrell and would remain sub-par under Torey Lovullo or any other manager.
Not that Farrell should be safe if the team continues to sputter. I’ve always believed that there comes a tipping point when the manager’s becomes a distraction, almost suffocating the club. But the Sox are not at that point; in fact, they’ve rebounded nicely from Saturday’s humiliating 21-2 loss to the Angels with resounding back-to-back triumphs.
Dombrowski probably would prefer to be patient — he never had a chance to evaluate Farrell last season because the manager was undergoing treatment for cancer. Mercifully, Dombrowski does not appear to be conducting a Twitter or talk radio poll on whether to make a change — though, of course, the Red Sox's reactionary ownership might be.
Fix the pitching, then worry about the manager.
Some improvement might come from within — if left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez straightens out, if righties Joe Kelly and (ahem) Clay Buchholz prove assets in the bullpen. Athletics left-hander Rich Hill, who revived his career with the Red Sox last September, remains a perfect trade target. But the only way Dombrowski should move Moncada or Benintendi is if he can acquire the type of pitcher who does not currently appear to be available — a true, controllable ace.
Braves right-hander Julio Teheran is not at that level in the opinion of most in the industry. Neither is Athletics righty Sonny Gray nor Rays righty Chris Archer, at least not in their present forms.
Perhaps some team will fall out of the race in the next few weeks, creating new possibilities (the Mets and Matt Harvey would be a doozy). But both the
Cubs and Rangers have demonstrated the value of hoarding young position players and retaining depth, flexibility and athleticism. The Red Sox, already blessed with shortstop Xander Bogaerts and outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr., are in position to do the same.
Moncada, 21, has played second base exclusively in the minors, but he is the most complete player in the Sox's system and could be the long-term answer at third. Benintendi, who turns 22 on Wednesday, could be the everyday left fielder and serve as protection in center if Bradley got injured, with Betts remaining in right.\
Some with the Sox believe that Dombrowski is sold on Moncada becoming a superstar, and the universal feeling in the organization is that Benintendi will develop into a better all-around player than two other advanced young hitters, the Cubs' Kyle Schwarber and Mets' Michael Conforto.
The Sox routinely whiff on pitching prospects, but they haven't missed lately on young hitters — Bogaerts and Bradley simply required patience, and the same might be true of Blake Swihart, who is out with a sprained right ankle.
Meanwhile, the chances of landing a top starter in a trade probably will be better in the offseason, when Harvey, the Marlins' Jose Fernandez and others might be more available.
Never mind that the Sox can use some good news at a time when their major-league team is struggling and baseball just
imposed an international signing ban on the club for 2016-17 and voided the contracts of five Sox signees.
Dombrowski is too shrewd and too experienced to create a cheap headline, either by firing his manager or making a rash trade.
