New Red Sox owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino contacted Marlins assistant general manager Al Avila in the last two days about a job with the team, and told him that Duquette will not stay with the team as its GM, baseball sources told The Boston Globe on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, sources told the Boston Herald that A's general manager Billy Beane tops the Red Sox's GM wish list, which also includes Giants GM Brian Sabean, the Padres' Kevin Towers and former big league GM Doug Melvin.

Avila refused comment to The Globe, saying he was still employed by the Marlins and referred all questions to Henry. But according to the sources, the new Sox owners are interested in Avila taking a position in which he would oversee player development and scouting, and could serve as part of a transitional team running the club until a permanent general manager is hired, The Globe reported.

Henry and Lucchino are also preparing for the possibility they may have to wait until after the 2002 season to hire a general manager, although one major league source said it was premature to rule out the possibility that Lucchino would make a run at Beane. While Beane has three years remaining on his contract, the source said that Beane has an out clause in the event that the team is sold, and the present owners of the A's, Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann, are quietly but actively seeking a buyer, The Globe reported. But in the event the Sox cannot pry Beane away, they apparently already are taking steps to make a transition from Duquette. Avila is under contract with the Marlins for the next two years, but his situation is clouded by the team's imminent sale by Henry to Jeffrey Loria, the owner of the Montreal Expos, a team that will likely be run by Major League Baseball this season.

One possibility for the Sox would be to try and pay the A's a sizeable cash consideration for his services, the Herald reported. Such a deal could take some time, but the Red Sox could make appropriate arrangements (interim GM) if they wanted Beane badly enough. The Red Sox may be looking at Avila may to fill that job

"We're well into the baseball year, the baseball cycle, now," Lucchino told the Herald. "Nonetheless, I believe change is inevitable when ownership is transferred. Every new group likes to put in a new style and new philosophy as quickly as possible.

"Until the closing and the keys are transferred to us, we don't have the authority to make final decisions. When a franchise is transferred, the new folks have the right, indeed the duty, to make changes."

Duquette has two years remaining on his contract.