PHILADELPHIA — It was not so much that John Farrell was sitting pretty in the visitors’ dugout Wednesday evening at Citizens Bank Park, his team narrowly holding onto first place in the American League East. More to the point on Farrell’s location, or relocation, he was nowhere near Toronto.

Last October, after Farrell chose to manage the Red Sox and was, in effect, traded to Boston from Toronto, it was difficult not to pity the man for stepping off what looked like a remodeled cruise ship about to set sail in order to board a looming Titanic.

In the winter, the Blue Jays loaded up on talent that money-strapped teams like Miami and the Mets could not afford. The Red Sox took a more circumspect approach in restocking a roster that lost 93 games in 2012 and finished 26 games behind the Yankees, dead last.

But where others saw ruin in Boston, Farrell — a former Red Sox pitching coach in the Terry Francona era, who managed the Blue Jays for two seasons — envisioned redemption and renewal.