Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell has been away from the team since Aug. 14 after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but terrific news trickled in Thursday when the organization announced his cancer is in remission.
Farrell expressed his happiness with the update Thursday in a statement, per ESPN.com:
I am extremely thankful for the outpouring of support I have received from the Red Sox, my family, friends, and fans throughout this process. I am also especially thankful for the talented doctors who cared for me in Detroit and here at [Massachusetts General Hospital]. I look forward to getting back to work and bringing another championship back to Boston.
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski also released a statement on behalf of the franchise, according to ESPN.com: “We are thrilled to hear the great news about John today. Foremost, we are extremely happy for him and his family, knowing what he has gone through over the past two months. We all admire him for his strength and courage and look forward to having him back as our manager.”
Farrell was absent for the final 48 games of the regular season following his diagnosis, and bench coach Torey Lovullo temporarily replaced him as the head honcho in the dugout.
However, the Red Sox have made it abundantly clear the 53-year-old will return as manager next season despite the team’s 78-84 record and last-place finish in the AL East in 2015.
“The commitment is made to John, he’ll be our manager for 2016, he should be fine,” Dombrowski said earlier this month, according to ESPN.com’s Gordon Edes.
With his health steadily improving, Farrell can now set his sights on helping the Red Sox piece together a resurgent 2016 campaign.
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