CLEVELAND -- Ben Cherington followed Theo Epstein as general manager of the Boston Red Sox after the 2011 season, and over the next three years, the team fostered what might have been the best farm system in baseball. Matt Barnes, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts, all developed effectively, with infielder Xander Bogaerts just ahead of them.
Meanwhile, at the big-league level, a series of short-term free agent signings paid off, and the Red Sox won the 2013 World Series. For all of that success, Cherington was demoted in the summer of 2015 -- effectively fired as the head of baseball operations.