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Jessica Moran: Red Sox Reporter And Manager John Farrell Rumors Surface

By Robert Jonathan
Published on: 04:19 PST, Mar 5, 2016

Jessica Moran has quit her job as a Boston Red Sox reporter for a regional TV sports network after rumors of an alleged relationship with manager John Farrell surfaced.

Until yesterday, Jessica Moran was a reporter and anchor for Comcast SportsNet New England.

In a text message to the Boston Globe, Jessica Moran, 32, stated the following about her employment status.

“I have stepped away from Comcast SportsNet as I thought it was in my best personal and professional interest to do so. They have been extremely supportive during my tenure at the network — and with this decision — and I am very appreciative of that.”

Jessica Moran’s Twitter account has also been deleted.

The terminology “stepping away” presumably implies a resignation, although it could suggest a return at some point in the future.

Red Sox manager John Farrell, a cancer survivor after being diagnosed last August and who then took a leave of absence from the team, is reportedly in the process of divorcing his wife of 30 years and has been separated for the last two.

When asked about Moran, Farrell, 53, replied, “My private life is private.”

The Farrells have three sons, all of whom were selected in the MLB draft.

Reportedly, Farrell’s wife was not around while he was receiving chemotherapy.

There evidently has been a lot of speculation (a.k.a. gossip) among journalists currently covering the Red Sox at their Fort Myers, Florida, Spring Training location about an alleged Jessica Moran-John Farrell relationship.

“A week ago, Moran… was mute when asked about Farrell,” the Globe added.

Jessica Moran, a Massachusetts native who grew up in nearby Rhode Island, joined the Comcast SportsNet staff in 2009.

Citing employee privacy, a Comcast SportsNet executive declined to comment on the situation.

John Farrell led the Red Sox to the World Series championship in 2013, but the team has finished in last place in the American League East in the subsequent two seasons.

There was some previous media speculation, perhaps unfair, that absent his illness, Farrell would have been fired last season given the team’s underperformance with a big payroll. The team did replace GM Ben Cherington with former Detroit Tigers boss Dave Dombrowski, who, among other moves, signed ace pitcher David Price to huge free-agent deal.

John Henry, the principal owner of the Red Sox, also owns the Boston Globe.

“Is this their first attempt to begin the process of removing Farrell from the equation here in Boston? Let the speculating begin,” Barstool Sports wondered.

As Red Sox manager, John Farrell has an overall regular season 221-222 win-loss record and an 11-5 post-season record. In the 2015 campaign, the Red Sox went 78-84.

While Farrell was on sick leave for lymphoma treatment, bench coach Torey Lovullo managed the Red Sox to a 28-20 record and was rewarded with a contract extension and a raise, which likely convinced him not to pursue a managing job with another team.

Including the disastrous managing tenure of Bobby Valentine, the Boston Red Sox uniquely went from worst to first to worst to worst in the previous four years.

As the Washington Post detailed, the Jessica Moran-John Farrell scenario is hardly the first alleged romance between a reporter and a member of the Boston Red Sox that hit the rumor mill.

“But the most bizarre part about all of this story may not be the alleged relationship between Moran and Farrell. It’s that a relationship between a team reporter and someone from the Boston Red Sox organization is being alleged, again…[T]he odd timing of Moran’s resignation does make you wonder: What is in the water at Fenway Park? Love Potion No. 9?”

[Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP]

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