"On Oct. 25, the Blue Jays announced they no longer would grant permission for employees to make lateral moves – a policy shift intended to squash talk of the Red Sox pursuing Jays manager John Farrell.

The new rule, however, didn't prevent the Sox from trying to change the Jays' minds.

The Sox, according to major-league sources, have had conversations with the Blue Jays about Farrell since the Jays' policy shift, asking what it would take for them to reconsider their position."