Will Josh Hamilton be part of the Red Sox’s bid to add more payroll? (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said Thursday that the team’s payroll will be “very large” and among the league’s highest at the end of the offseason.

“It’s harder to predict this offseason than it has been in previous offseasons because in previous offseasons we’ve been closer to that, closer to where we’ll end up,” Cherington said in an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI, according to ESPN. “Especially last offseason, when we were making more cosmetic changes.

“I know that we’ll have a very strong payroll, a large payroll. I know that we’re going to add to it this winter. I’m confident in saying that we’ll be amongst the larger payrolls in the game. Exactly where it ends up, exactly what rank we are, I don’t know that yet. I think it just depends on what we do. We’re not going to shoot for an arbitrary payroll number just to say that we’re going to get to this. We just have to look at each opportunity as it comes and figure out whether it’s the right thing for the Red Sox.”

The Red Sox come into the offseason with only about $45 million committed to their roster. That’s because they shipped Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the season, freeing up nearly $250 million in future salary.

Cherington would not say if he planned to make any “big splashes,” but he did say he’s been in touch with “just about every agent of any prominent free agent.”

The Red Sox are reportedly interested in entering the bidding for free-agent outfielder Josh Hamilton. And they also reportedly plan to target free agents Michael Bourn, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew.

Bobby Valentine may last only one season as Red Sox manager. (Seth Wickerham/Getty Images)

Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington today alluded that the team will probably be replacing manager Bobby Valentine.

During a segment on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan Morning Show, Cherington did not directly discuss Valentine’s status, but said a search for a new manager would progress more quickly than last year’s process.

“I’d always rather get the decision right rather than rush it,” Cherington said. “But I think that what we know we need to do is hit the ground running in this offseason. One of the things, as I look back at last offseason, that didn’t go perfectly was simply the amount of time that we spent on the manager search and what that did to the rest of the offseason. I would like to spend less time on it this offseason, that’s for sure.”

Valentine said yesterday that he had yet to discuss his job and future as Red Sox manager with Cherington or ownership and wasn’t conceding the end.

Chairman Tom Werner and president Larry Lucchino previously said Valentine will finish the season, but Boston Herald writer Scott Lauber thinks “it’s telling that they have passed up several opportunities to extend their votes of confidence to next year.”

The drawn-out exit of  then-GM Theo Epstein delayed the Red Sox’s search for a new manager. Valentine was the sixth candidate to be interviewed by the team.

Bobby Valentine’s first few weeks as manager of the Boston Red Sox have been an unmitigated disaster — massive payroll and all, the BoSox are 4-10, dead last by far in the American League East, and fans in the Hub have been quick to criticize the manager.

But according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald, Boston general manager Ben Cherington has come out and voiced his support for Valentine, saying he’s “very satisfied” with the manager’s performance thus far despite the poor results on the field.

“The players will always influence wins and losses more than anybody else,” Cherington said. “That’s no different here. He’s doing the best he can with the roster he has. It’ll get better. He knows that, and I know that. Along the way, if changes need to be made on the roster, that’s my responsibility.”

Most notable among the Red Sox’ struggling players are the big-name hurlers at the top of their rotation — Jon Lester (0-2, 5.82 ERA), Josh Beckett (1-2, 5.03) and Clay Buchholz (1-1, 9.00) have all struggled mightily. Not to mention the bullpen, which blew a 9-0 lead against the New York Yankees yesterday in an eventual 15-9 loss.

“We’re 4-10, and our pitching performance hasn’t been good,” Cherington said. “You can’t just hope something will get better. You have to look at things objectively and try to find ways to improve it. There’s more urgency to find ways to make it improve. There’s no one way to do that. We’ve got to look at all ways.”

The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs have agreed to extend the deadline for settling on compensation for Theo Epstein by at least a week, according to SI.com.

“We’re going to have a little more time to work it out,” Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said on Wednesday.

“We just made a practical decision with everything going on, with Theo in Chicago and us here with managerial searches,” he added. “It was mutually agreed upon that we give ourselves at least another week before we turn it over.”

Commissioner Bud Selig had a set a Tuesday deadline and said he would step in and settle the negotiations if an agreement hadn’t been reached, according to Sports Illustrated.

“If we don’t have something, we’ll revisit it and see if it makes sense to extend it further,” Cherington said. “Right now it’s at least a week of time.”

Epstein had one year left on his contract when he left for Chicago last week, agreeing to a five-year dela worth a reported $18.5 million.  Cherington was promoted to general manager after Epstein left.