Major League Baseball

Report: Red Sox select Cherington as GM

Published Oct. 13, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The Boston Red Sox have selected Ben Cherington to replace Theo Epstein as the club's next general manager, Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday.

Cherington, who was the odds-on favorite to land the job, will take over the role vacated by Epstein, who reportedly is completing a move to the Chicago Cubs.

Cherington, 37, served as Boston's vice president of player personnel for the past three seasons. He was first hired by the club as an intern in 1997 before earning a full-time job in 1999.

The new general manager takes over during an unstable period in Red Sox history. Cherington faces a tall order following the club's catastrophic late-season collapse, the departure of manager Terry Francona and disparaging reports detailing dysfunction in the team's clubhouse.

But the Red Sox apparently believe Cherington is up to the challenge of re-establishing the same success that brought the franchise two World Series titles in the last eight years.

"He has really good instincts for baseball and a real good understanding of the market because he grew up in New England," former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette told the Boston Herald. "I know Ben has the skills to be a major league GM."

Epstein, who oversaw Boston's two World Series titles -- the franchise's first since 1918 -- is reportedly hammering out the details of a five-year deal with the Cubs, who have not won a championship since 1908.