The Monday Baseball Column: Two names the Red Sox should be putting at the top of their list

This is what we know about the Red Sox' search for their next chief decision-maker: It might take a while to find the person.

This isn't going to be Dave Dombrowski. This isn't going to be Chaim Bloom. In both cases, by all accounts, the candidates had been limited to one early on, as was evident by how the team proceeded.

After the revelation that this might drag on a bit? It's largely about educated guesses, industry whispers and common sense. Sorry.

What we do have a pretty good idea about is that Eddie Romero - who was interviewed the last time around - will deservedly get a shot. And it certainly seems as though Phillies' GM Sam Fuld left enough of an impression on the Red Sox higher-ups during their managerial search to be put on a short-list.

But if the Red Sox want to go from outside the organization, there are a couple of elements they should be prioritizing: 1. Someone who has made the tough decisions before and come out of most of them on the favorable side of things; 2. Someone who has at least somewhat of a built-in relationship with Alex Cora.

That brings us to two names that should be put at the top of the Red Sox' list: Former Rangers GM/President Jon Daniels and current Marlins GM Kim Ng.

Let's start with Daniels ...

Here's a pertinent story about the now 46-year-old: Just a couple of months after becoming the youngest GM in Major League Baseball history at the age of 28, the Marlins approached Daniels about a potential trade involving Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. The return Florida was looking for was reasonable, but Daniels wanted to make sure he was doing due diligence and told the Marlins he would get back to them. After a few days of deliberation, Daniels determined the deal was a fair one and told Florida such.

Too late.

While Daniels was weighing the merits of the deal, the Red Sox had swooped in and offered Florida Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez and two minor leaguers for Beckett, Lowell and pitcher Guillermo Mota. Florida took the deal.

For Daniels, it was valuable lesson learned: You can't wait around in this business if you really want something. And that is the kind of message that should be of the utmost importance for the next boss in Boston.

Up until his last few years in Texas, Daniels had seemingly built a model franchise, going to the postseason five times from 2010 through 2016, including a pair of World Series appearances. During the run, the Rangers routinely had strong farm systems, rating in the Top 10 in 2009 (No. 1), 2010, (No. 1), 2012 (No. 1), 2013 (No. 2), 2014 (No. 9), 2015 (No. 4), and 2016 (No. 9).

And while the years leading up to Daniels' dismissal had seen the Rangers drop in both the major league standings and farm system rankings, it should be noted that every position player that started in the Rangers' American League Division Series Game 2 win was secured during the current Rays' advisor's tenure in Texas.

He has made big trades. He has made huge signings (most recently Marcus Semien and Corey Seager). Each skill-set would seem to be prioritized heading into this offseason. And he has somewhat of a history with Cora, having given the current Red Sox skipper his first managerial interview after playing in four games with the Rangers in 2010.

And about Ng ...

The 54-year-old certainly paid her dues upon finally becoming the first woman general manager in MLB, with the Marlins giving Ng the job in 2020. There has been more than 30 years of management experience, working for the White Sox, Yankees and Dodgers along the way. (She has three World Series rings thanks to her time in New York.) And along the way, by all accounts, prioritizing the kind of culture that is built for winning is the priority.

Ng seemingly identifies the right fits and focuses in on how to get that person. She did it with current manager Skip Schumaker, who was then empowered to pick the coaching staff he believed would be the right fit. And the New York native has enacted the same approach when it comes to roster-building.

In the last few years, Ng has made perhaps more gutsy trades than any GM, with the swap of Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez jumping to the top of the list. There was the dealing of the No. 4 overall pick in the Draft (JJ Bleday) for a pitcher who ultimately spent time as the Marlins' closer this season (A.J. Puk). During the 2021 Trade Deadline, she secured valuable pieces pitcher Jesus Lazardo and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz. At the end of the 2022 spring training, the Marlins got their best reliever, Tanner Scott, from the Orioles for minor leaguers who have yet to see the majors.

And then there was this past Deadline, when Ng secured two players who proved to make up a big part of the Marlins' postseason middle-of-the-order: Jake Burger and Josh Bell.

And, yes, there is also a connection to Cora, with the pair having crossed paths with the Dodgers, where Ng worked in the front office from 2001-11, and Cora played between 1998-2004.

It remains to be seen if Ng would be interested in moving from the Marlins after having built them up to be a playoff team in her three seasons at the helm. But the GM's contract is up, and there will be more money to spend, making such a conversation worthy of some serious discussion.

WHY RED SOX FANS MIGHT WANT TO WATCH THE POSTSEASON

Before we get to the players you know have Red Sox connections in the postseason, let's look a couple you might not have known could have very well been playing in Boston instead of their current locale.

According to a source, the Red Sox were very close to dealing J.D. Martinez to the Dodgers heading into the 2022 Trade Deadline. But in the final moments, the Sox asked for an additional arm: Evan Phillips. That ended that.

To the Red Sox' credit, they identified the right guy, with Phillips serving as Los Angeles' closer for much of the 2023 season (in which he finished with a 2.05 ERA) after totaling a 1.14 ERA in 64 2022 outings.

Another current member of the Dodgers' bullpen that the Red Sox tried to trade for this past offseason? The co-author of 'A Damn Near Perfect Game: Reclaiming America's Pastime', Joe Kelly. Since rejoining the Dodgers, Kelly has managed a 1.74 ERA and .088 batting average against in 11 outings, striking out 19 in 10 1/3 innings. In the two-month span, he also staked claim to a bobblehead night and Dodger Stadium mural. It should also be noted that the team desperately battling with the Dodgers for the Lance Lynn/Kelly package at the Deadline was Tampa Bay.

Other postseason participants of note:

Ryan Brasier, Dodgers: The righty's well-documented turnaround since leaving the Red Sox hasn't slowed down, with Brasier becoming one of the best relievers in baseball over his 39 appearances with Los Angeles (0.70 ERA).

J.D. Martinez, Dodgers: After a brief physical hiccup involving his tailbone - which the slugger finally identified during a September trip to Arizona - the designated hitter swinging it pretty well heading into the playoffs. After coming off the injured list in early September, Martinez totaled a 1.050 OPS with eight homers in his final 21 regular season games.

Mookie Betts, Dodgers: Do we need to remind anyone what he has done this season? Nope. So, instead we will give you this nugget: Betts recently revealed to WEEI.com that his offseason goal will to become fluent in Spanish in order to serve all corners of the clubhouse a better team leader.

Kiké Hernandez, Dodgers: Los Angeles has been able to pick its spots with Hernandez, allowing him to be a valued member of the mix-and-match bottom of the lineup. Since going to the Dodgeres, Hernandez totaled a .731 OPS in 54 games. With LA, he has played 15 games at second base, 12 at third, 10 as a shortstop and 22 in the outfield.

Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks: The former Red Sox bench coach has been pushing all the right buttons for the Diamondbacks, while offering the best managerial speech of the season during his team's postseason-clinching celebration: "Don't (expletive) judge me. Tonight, I'm not your manager."

Tommy Pham, Diamondbacks: Pham is putting his best foot forward heading into another round of free agency, going 4-for-5 while hitting third during Arizona's Game 1 rout of the Dodgers.

Will Venable/Tim Hyers, Rangers: Venable - who is seemingly jumping to the top of the list when it comes to possible replacements for Terry Francona in Cleveland - is Texas' associate manager under Bruce Bochy, while Hyers serves as the Rangers' hitting coach.

Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers: The Rangers slow-played Eovaldi heading through the final two months of the regular season, and it seems to have paid dividends. After not pitching more than five innings any start dating back to July 18, the righty allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings in his first postseason start, against the Rays. For his career, Eovaldi has managed a 2.90 ERA in the playoffs, with his team going 9-3 in games he has appeared.

Jordan Montgomery, Rangers: Why do we mention this starting pitcher? Because he is likely to be joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a chief free agent target for the Red Sox this offseason.

Christian Vazquez, Twins: In Minnesota's first four postseason games, Vazquez has yet to see any action, with Ryan Jeffers getting the nod behind the plate for Rocco Baldelli's club. For the season, Vazquez finished with a .598 OPS in 102 games.

Sonny Gray, Twins: See Jordan Montgomery.

WHAT ABOUT SHOHEI OHTANI?

Are the Red Sox seemingly more motivated than a few months ago to enact one of their shock-and-awe offseasons? Undoubtedly. Staring down at apathy and another last-place finish will do that. Does that mean a run at Ohtani is part of that plan? Eh.

If you're looking for a no-doubt-about-it target for the Red Sox, your time is better spent on Yamamoto, the 25-year-old free agent pitcher from Japan. While everyone in New York was doing back flips over seeing Brian Cashman in attendance for Yamamoto's no-hitter, understand that the Red Sox have scouted the righty as much as any team. The educated guess here is this will be where any financial might will be focused.

As for Ohtani, never say never. Yes, he would be able to walk down the street to get his footwear at New Balance. And the Red Sox certainly were ready to pounce if Ohtani agreed to a meeting the first time around, sitting at the ready for "Ohtani" Bruins, Celtics and Patriots jerseys. (No such meeting came to fruition.) But the fact that Ohtani didn't let the Red Sox in the door the first time around, along with the uncertainty when it comes to the organization's lot in life, still makes the marriage unlikely.

There is one caveat: It should be noted that Ohtani does have familiarity with Romero, who teamed with former Red Sox scout Jon Deeble to put the full-court press on Ohtani coming out of high school.

"After that meeting, we thought we had a good chance to sign him," Romero told WEEI.com. Deeble agreed, saying, "I think from what I understand it would've come down to the Red Sox and the Dodgers. At that point the Dodgers had a very good relationship with him also through someone who was working for them at the time. The Red Sox were definitely one or two to be able to get him, for sure."

The Red Sox' instincts were obviously keen, with Romero remembering, ""It's the best pitching report that I've ever done. At the time, he was the best pitching prospect I had ever seen. He's got the highest grade I've ever given a pitcher."

RICH HILL ISN'T ABOUT TO SURRENDER HIS TITLE

The oldest active player in any of the four major professional sports is coming back for another season.

Appearing on the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast last week, Hill - who will be 44 years old on Opening Day next season - said he has every intention of returning for another year. While his numbers since joining the Padres weren't what he had hoped, Hill did point to a resurgence in the final month thanks to some guidance from the San Diego coaches - and the new role as a reliever - as motivation heading into 2024.

JONATHAN PAPELBON MAY HAVE A BIG PAYDAY

It has been well-documented on the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast that the former Red Sox closer has long believed the Phillies are the team to beat this season. His belief resulted in Papelbon making a bet that will net hin $150,000 if Philadelphia wins the whole thing. So far, so good.

But besides the talent that Philly is carrying through the postseason, there is also a camaraderie that is seemingly serving as a pretty powerful springboard. Former Red Sox reliever Matt Strahm said during his recent appearance on BIB that this was the team dinners he had every experienced. It's a dynamic that can't be overstated, as Hill pointed out when suggesting teams should present a built-in budget every year for such get-togethers.