Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington Likely to Accept Pirates GM Job in Coming Days

Based on his body of work, Ben Cherington deserves another chance.

Unfairly scapegoated at the end of his Red Sox tenure, as Boston figureheads often are, Cherington lost his job midway through a disastrous 2015 season and gave way to Dave Dombrowski's volcanic administration.

Since then, he's worked in the Blue Jays' front office, but hasn't held the top executive position in any organization, until he makes things official in the next few days, and ascends once again in Pittsburgh.

Cherington, initially one of Theo Epstein's lieutenants, took over the Sox following the Chicken and Beer disaster of 2011. His first year was a disaster; the 2012 Bobby Valentine Red Sox clattered to the turf and threatened to undo all the positive progress the organization had made over the previous decade of dominance.

However, his remarkable and endless shrewd signings prior to 2013 immediately ushered in a new era of clubhouse camaraderie and dominance: Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, and the like changed everything, delivering another title to Boston.

The team regressed the next year, then tried to recover by adding the expensive contracts that became Cherington's downfall: Hanley Ramirez and, most importantly, Pablo Sandoval. It wasn't sustainable, but flags fly forever. Pittsburgh hopes he learned lessons from that endeavor, but perhaps more importantly, that he keeps 2013 with him always, and gets them a pennant they can call their own.