The Blue Jays yesterday "announced the hiring" of former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington as VP/Baseball Operations, according to Shi Davidi of SPORTSNET.ca. Sources said that other teams "also held talks" with Cherington. The sources indicated that Cherington will "work with many facets of the front office’s baseball side, with an emphasis on player development." Cherington left the Red Sox last year after Dave Dombrowski was hired as President of Baseball Operations (SPORTSNET.ca, 9/14). The Blue Jays said that Cherington "will work closely" with Blue Jays Dir of Player Development Gil Kim, and "will report directly to" Exec VP/Baseball Operations & GM Ross Atkins (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/15). In Boston, Nick Cafardo notes Cherington worked with Blue Jays President & CEO Mark Shapiro with the Indians years ago, so he is "very familiar with Shapiro’s style of management" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/15). Also in Boston, Evan Drellich writes in the context of the AL East, Pepsi "just hired the guy with Coca-Cola’s recipe." Cherington surely joined the Blue Jays because he "felt it [was] the best fit for him, not because he wants to stick it to the Red Sox." However, Red Sox ownership "should still be worried." Cherington "will have a particular focus on the farm system" with the Blue Jays (BOSTON HERALD, 9/15). ESPN.com's Scott Lauber tweeted, "If Dave Dombrowski hadn't become available last August, Ben Cherington might still be Red Sox GM. Nice to see him land on his feet." Former Toronto Sun columnist Bob Elliott notes Cherington "used to scour Canada for BOS looking for talent #ExcellentHire" (TWITTER.com, 9/15).
JUST A BIT OUTSIDE: In Minneapolis, Michael Rand reports the Twins have interviewed Royals VP & Assistant GM/Player Personnel J.J. Picollo to lead their baseball operations, but also "swung and missed" in an attempt to get Cherington to interview. Sometimes a situation "just isn’t right." Cherington, for instance, "reportedly cited 'personal reasons' for not interviewing with the Twins." Still, the natural inclination "will be to wonder if candidates are looking at the Twins’ situation ... and deciding they’d be better off waiting for something else" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 9/15). CBSSPORTS.com's Mike Axisa wrote the "larger issue here is candidates declining to interview with the Twins." These jobs "are in high demand." That Cherington "turned down the opportunity to run the Twins and instead took a second or third-in-command position with the Blue Jays is pretty telling." The Twins job "isn't very appealing, apparently" (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/14).
