Red Sox hire John Farrell as manager, send Mike Aviles to Blue Jays as compensation

The Boston Red Sox have officially hired John Farrell as their next manager on a three-year deal that will keep him in Boston through 2015, reports Alex Speier of WEEI.com:

Source: #redsox agree to hire Farrell through 2015. Compensation will be announced in next couple days, but deal w/Farrell done.

— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 21, 2012

While no news of compensation for either side has been officially announced, it is believed that both sides are expected to receive a player. A source has told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that the player going to the Blue Jays will be shortstop Mike Aviles:

According to a baseball source, Red Sox infielder Mike Aviles is slated to be sent to the Blue Jays as compensation for hiring John Farrell as the Sox' new manager. The Jays will still have to send a player or cash to the Red Sox to complete the deal.

As Bradford states, the Blue Jays have the option of sending cash to Boston instead of a player, but several sources believe that a player will indeed be sent to the Red Sox. Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun speculates that player could be first baseman/designated hitter Adam Lind.

When the week began, there was no inkling that a deal for Farrell between the Red Sox and Blue Jays was even on the horizon. The Blue Jays had maintained their stance that Farrell was signed through 2013 and that as an employee under contract they would not talk with other teams. Now here we are just a week later and the Blue Jays must begin their own search for a new manager.

The other candidates for the manager position in Boston -- Tim Wallach, DeMarlo Hale, Tony Pena and Brad Ausmus -- could be a starting point in Toronto's search for a new skipper. Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. is also a possible candidate.