CLEVELAND — It’s a story easily told with the bonus of tugging at your emotions. A baseball manager learns he has cancer and leaves his last-place team to get treatment, missing the remainder of the season but driving the disease into remission.

Thankful to have survived, he arrives at spring training with a renewed love of the game and greater appreciation for what each day brings.

Cut to a tearful speech before Game 7 of the World Series and it’s practically a Kevin Costner movie.

Reality is much more complicated for John Farrell and the Red Sox as the season opens on Monday against the Cleveland Indians, and it has a chance to get messy.

If Farrell has changed — and those around him believe he has — it’s less about the cancer than you might think. It’s more because he recognized that he had to.

The Red Sox are 26 games under .500 since Farrell guided the team to an unexpected World Series championship in 2013. They have finished in last place in consecutive years for the first time in 85 years.

Two of Farrell’s coaches were fired last season along with several members of the support staff. General manager Ben Cherington, who hired Farrell, resigned last summer rather than accept a demotion.

Of the 48 players who received World Series rings in ’13, only 10 are still in the organization.

For Farrell, change was inevitable if only because so much changed around him. It’s not difficult to figure out who is next out the door if the team doesn’t reverse its course.

“Because of the last two years where we finished, does it put you in a position to take a look at different things? Sure,’’ he said. “If you continue on the same approach, maybe you’re going to look at the same results.’’

It helps to explain why Farrell risked angering veteran players in his clubhouse by benching third baseman Pablo Sandoval before the season even started. Farrell did the same to another well-compensated player, left fielder Rusney Castillo.

When Rick Porcello, another expensive underachiever, pitched poorly in his last spring training start, Farrell eschewed the usual “he got his work in’’ platitudes and said the righthander was capable of better and had to show it.

A few days later, Porcello was dropped to No. 4 starter.

“John is not mincing his words now,’’ bench coach Torey Lovullo said. “He’s saying what will happen, and he knows what direction he wants the team to go. He wants the players playing the best to play.’’

Lovullo occupies an unusual position in all this. He is Farrell’s most trusted adviser and a longtime friend, their relationship stretching back almost 25 years when they were teammates with the Angels. He also will almost surely become the manager if Farrell is fired.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski signed Lovullo to a two-year contract in October with a salary commensurate with that of a first-year manager. In return, Lovullo waived the right to pursue other jobs.

The Sox were 28-20 under Lovullo when Farrell was on medical leave, the team playing with a sense of purpose previously missing. But he is content with again being the bench coach and witnessing Farrell’s return to health.

“To think about what he went through and how he recovered is almost amazing,’’ Lovullo said. “There were days last year when he was tired and his body wasn’t in great shape. You wouldn’t even think twice about it now.

“His hair might be a little curlier than it once was, but that is it. There is zero indication that he went through the cancer treatments and defeated cancer.’’

Also absent is any tension between the two. Lovullo is uncomfortable at even the suggestion there could be.

“You have to remember that we’re friends. We were friends long before we were colleagues,’’ he said. “To have him go through what he went through was tough on me. To see him healthy and strong again makes me happy. I feel good for him and for everyone around him, his family and his friends, and I’m part of that.’’

Among his players, Farrell’s job security has not been a topic. The roster turnover in recent seasons has left only a handful of Red Sox who know Farrell on a personal level.

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia disputes the notion there is any motivation to be gained from the manager fighting for his job.

“There’s urgency here every day,’’ he said. “Everyone says we have to get off to a great start. No, we have to play well all year. If we start 20-0 and lose the next 142, we’ll be the worst team ever.

“He looks great and I’m glad he’s healthy. But we have to win regardless, you know?’’

For Farrell, managing is more process than personality, anyway. He believes in the value of extensive pregame preparation and turning small advantages into big gains. He sees more value in scouting reports than speeches.

But that approach has softened a bit. Lovullo has noticed Farrell making time for longer conversations with players and fostering better camaraderie among the coaching staff.

David Ortiz said much the same, noting Farrell wrapped him in a hug the day he arrived at camp. While there was no hug for Jackie Bradley Jr., the outfielder said his relationship with Farrell has become more personal.

“He’s on my side,’’ Bradley said. “I sense that now.’’

Told that others see changes, Farrell grimaced a bit. He’s the son of a no-nonsense New Jersey lobsterman and twice had Tommy John elbow surgery during his playing career. Emotionally gooey, John Farrell is not.

“There’s been a lot made of that. I don’t know that I’m a different person,’’ he said. “Sure, I’ve got a different set of experiences. We’ve got a different roster as well. A lot has been made of the sense of urgency that I spoke of at the outset of camp. There’s always a sense of urgency here in Boston. But I’m looking forward to the start of things.’’

Whatever changes others have noticed, they come from a genuine place.

“Hopefully it’s felt because that’s the intention. It needs to be felt,’’ Farrell said. “They need to feel that I, as well as our staff, are here for them and we’re going to work our tail off to put them in the best position for us to win as a team.’’

Based on spring training, Farrell sees this Red Sox team having similar traits to the champions of ’13, specifically in their desire for information to gain even subtle edges within games. Farrell called that exciting, a good sign after so many wrong turns.

If the cancer left anything, it might be a certain level of imperviousness to concern about the future. Pressure is learning you have non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt lymphoma and need immediate chemotherapy, not having to be in contention on Memorial Day.

“Hopefully you don’t have to come back from cancer. When you overcome that, yeah, there’s a completely different view of every day you come into work,’’ Farrell said on the eve of a season that will determine his future as a manager.

“There’s probably a different perspective in terms of what life is about. I think when you flirt with your own morality that can cause you to push pause for a moment and kind of think about where you are and what’s at hand.’’

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.