BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have interviewed Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin for their vacant managerial job.

Mackanin is meeting with the media at Fenway Park on Monday night.

The Red Sox are also scheduled to talk to Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum this week.

Mackanin is looking to replace Terry Francona, who parted ways with the team after its unprecedented September collapse. Mackanin also spent time in the Expos, Pirates, Reds and Yankees systems.

He was an interim manager with the Reds in 2007 and the Pirates in 2005, going 53-53 in the two temporary gigs. He is also 917-849 in 13 years as a minor league manager.

Also Monday, the Red Sox declined contract options on relievers Dan Wheeler and Scott Atchison.

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Read More: Dan Wheeler (P – BOS), Scott Atchison (P – BOS), Boston Red Sox

Dan Wheeler and Scott Atchison, both relief pitchers for the Boston Red Sox, did not have their options picked up by the team and will become free agents, according to an announcement from the team on Twitter.

Wheeler is coming off his first season with the Red Sox while Atchison is coming off his second. In 2011, Wheeler had a 2-2 record with a 4.38 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 47 games while Atchison was 1-0 with a 3.26 ERA and 17 punch-outs in 17 games. In his two seasons with the club, Atchison is 3-3 with a 4.08 ERA and 58 strikeouts.

Even though the team declined the options on both players, they could be back.

This doesn’t mean that these two pitchers aren’t eligible to be re-signed, but for now, it’s up in the air. Wheeler struggled to start the 2011 season, posting an 11.32 ERA with four homers allowed in just 10-1/3 innings through May 4, but following a stint on the DL, returned to be one of Boston’s very best relievers the rest of the way, with an ERA of 2.54, 7.1 strikeouts per nine against just 1.6 walks per nine, and just 0.7 homers allowed.

As for Atchison, part of his value was in his ability to move up and down between the minors and Boston as the team needed additional help in the bullpen. Now that he is out of options, though, then the majors were just about the only place for him. (via Over The Monster)

For more Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and blog, Over The Monster.

BOSTON (CBS)  -The Boston Red Sox have declined team options on right-handed relievers Scott Atchison and Dan Wheeler, the team announced Monday.

Wheeler went 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA in his first season with the Red Sox after being signed as a free-agent over the offseason. A 12-year veteran, Wheeler has a career 3.88 ERA with a 25-43 record and 43 saves.

Read: Sox Pick Up Option On Scutaro

The team could still offer Wheeler arbitration. If Wheeler, who is a Class B free agent, declines arbitration, Boston would be eligible to receive a sandwich pick as compensation.

Atchison made 17 appearances for the Red Sox over six stints, posting a 1-0 record with a 3.26 ERA. He also pitched in 36 games with Triple-A Pawtucket, including one start, going 6-2 with five saves with a a 2.64 ERA.

Read: Dan Roche’s Sports Blog

Atchison will remain on the club’s 40-man roster.

The Ben Cherington era is officially underway. The new GM of the Red Sox made his first official decision Sunday, agreeing to pick up the $6 million option on Marco Scutaro’s 2012 contract.

It’s not like this was an earth-shattering decision, certainly not one that carries the weight of re-signing a Jonathan Papelbon or a David Ortiz, because everything was in place for Cherington, put there by predecessor Theo Epstein. The deal was that Scutaro would get $6 million from the Sox, $3 million if he declared his intention to stay or a $1.5 million buyout.

Cherington viewed this as a no-brainer, however, after Scutaro’s year of redemption. Epstein had originally signed the veteran to a two-year, $12.5 million deal that seemed to make sense at the time. Scutaro was a strong fielder and a solid hitter, but he was getting older and he’d never exactly had a standout year. In 2010, the shortstop was a wreck, committing 18 errors in 132 games. By the end of the season he was playing second base in Dustin Pedroia’s absence.

It turned out that Scutaro was playing through a series of injuries, including an ailing shoulder that was keeping him from making strong throws from the hole. He went home, healed and came back with a solid shoulder, although he was forced to do a DL stint early on with an oblique strain, and missed scattered other assignments with various ailments (he hurt his back stepping off a curb in Seattle). Just when everybody thought that he’d be losing his job to Jed Lowrie, he went on a charge that would earn him his $6 million.

In 2011 he committed 12 errors in 109 games, all at shortstop, but what set him apart was his bat. In an Aug. 7 game at New York he went 4-for-4, hit a ninth-inning leadoff double against Mariano Rivera and scored the game-tying run. On Sept. 6, in the now infamous 14-0 win at Toronto, he went 4-for-5 with three doubles and four RBI. In that four-game series he went 11-for-17 with nine RBI.

Indeed, when the Red Sox were collapsing, going 7-20 in September, Scutaro over the last 28 days batted .398 with a .450 OBP, .602 SLG and 1.052 OPS. He certainly wasn’t perfect. In a game against Tampa Bay he got handcuffed when a broken bat headed his way, missing a ground ball that enabled four runs to score. And in a game at New York he failed to record an out on a routine ground ball. They were rare miscues in what had been a terrific season.

The re-signing of Scutaro makes sense for another reason: he serves as a bridge to the future. Turning 36 in 2012, he’ll plug the shortstop hole for the Sox while young Jose Iglesias continues to be groomed for the job. Iglesias spent some unimpressive days with the Sox during 2011 and needs another season to get his bat working to major league standards. The Sox do believe he’ll be ready for the 2013 season and hope he will be in the position for years to come. Scutaro helps make that happen.

Cherington now can turn his attention in other free agent directions. He’s looking at demands for huge money by Ortiz and Papelbon, he’s got to make decisions on re-signing Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield and also mid-season addition Erik Bedard.

The Sox have 10 other arbitration-eligible players: Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard, Andrew Miller, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Mike Aviles, Matt Albers, Jed Lowrie, Franklin Morales and Rich Hill. They likely won’t be in a hurry to offer Ellsbury the big-money contract he deserves after being named A.L. Comeback Player of the Year, but he, Bard, Aceves and Saltalamacchia should be in line for large offers from the club. Aviles and Hill might also be looking at strong paydays.

MLB teams have until Tuesday to sign their own free agents exclusively.