Hoyer, McLeod join Epstein with Cubs

The second worst-kept secret on the North Side became official Wednesday night when the Cubs and the San Diego Padres released a joint statement announcing that Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod will leave the Padres, effective immediately, to accept positions with the Cubs.

Hoyer will serve as executive vice president/general manager and McLeod as senior vice president/scouting and player development, while the Padres intend to announce Josh Byrnes as Hoyer’s successor.

The Cubs have agreed to send the Padres a player to be named later as compensation.

Both Hoyer, who just completed his second season as GM of the Padres, and McLeod (assistant GM) have ties to Theo Epstein, the new Cubs president of baseball operations.

Hoyer, 37, joined the Padres after spending the previous eight years with Boston, where he served as senior vice president/assistant general manager under Epstein.

He first joined Boston before the 2002 campaign and was actively involved in player development, major-league scouting, quantitative analysis and advance scouting. In 2005 he served as co-GM for Boston over a 44-day stint while Epstein briefly left the organization.

He starred as a pitcher at Wesleyan University and later served two seasons as an assistant coach for the Wesleyan baseball team.

In 2009, McLeod returned to San Diego, where he started as an intern.

He worked for the Red Sox’ scouting department for the previous seven years. He joined Boston in 2003 and was named director of amateur scouting after the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series. His first draft with Boston produced 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and 2008 AL Most Valuable Player Dustin Pedroia.

Both the Cubs and the Padres intend to hold news conferences after the World Series.