Paul Beeston is the man standing between John Farrell and the Boston Red Sox.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Beeston is the most important figure determining Farrell’s future and he was the biggest reason why the Blue Jays manager didn’t leave for Boston last off-season.

“It all depends what the feelings are of Paul Beeston, who runs the Blue Jays,” Olney told Mut & Merloni on WEEI radio in Boston on Wednesday. “He is the bottleneck in this whole thing. He was the one who essentially stepped in and stopped (Farrell) from going to Boston last fall.

“A lot of speculation about John’s relationship with the Blue Jays and how the Blue Jays feel about him,” Olney explained. “It all depends whether or not Paul Beeston will allow a Blue Jays employee to go to a divisional rival and whether or not he sees Farrell as part of the Blue Jays future.”

Olney added the two teams did not discuss any possible compensation for Farrell over the weekend, as the two front offices spent some time “doing family stuff,” over the holiday weekends in Canada and the United States.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays are expected to re-open talks this week, and Olney believes if Beeston is willing to let Farrell go, something could happen within the next “24-to-48 hours.”

“If he’s OK with John leaving, it can get done very quickly. If he fights and claws, I think the Red Sox would prepare to move on…. If he’s someone they want to build around in Toronto, they’re going to say no.

“If they have lukewarm feelings about him, they should make something happen because he’ll probably walk after next season anyway.”

You can listen to the interview below: