On Oct. 25, the Blue Jays announced they no longer would grant permission for employees to make lateral moves – a policy shift intended to squash talk of the Red Sox pursuing Jays manager John Farrell.

The new rule, however, didn’t prevent the Sox from trying to change the Jays’ minds.

The Sox, according to major-league sources, have had conversations with the Blue Jays about Farrell since the Jays’ policy shift, asking what it would take for them to reconsider their position.

However, the Sox never considered it likely that the Jays would engage in serious discussions about Farrell, and the conversations failed to progress, sources said.

Farrell, the Red Sox’s pitching coach from 2007 to ’10, is under contract to the Jays for two more seasons. The Jays do not intend to trade him, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Sox’s managerial search continues.

General manager Ben Cherington interviewed former Rangers and Mets manager Bobby Valentine on Monday, and the team is planning to interview Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont a second time.

-Ken Rosenthal