Theo Epstein to Cubs? Red Sox driving hard bargain
The Cubs are still talking with the Boston Red Sox about compensation in a deal to bring general manager Theo Epstein to Chicago, a person familiar with the negotiations said Friday.
Epstein has agreed to a deal with the Cubs and would leave Boston with a year remaining on his contract, the person said on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. The deal is reportedly for five years.
Whether the Cubs have to send the Red Sox cash, prospects or both was not clear, though various reports say the two sides were not in agreement Thursday. The talks continued Friday for a second day.
Any deal would have to be approved by Major League Baseball.
Red Sox owner John Henry said Friday he didn’t want Epstein to leave.
“I’d love to have Theo back. I would have loved for Theo to have been our general manager for the next 20 years,” Henry told WBZ Radio in Boston on Friday.
“That was my hope. That would have been my hope. But you don’t always get what you want. I did everything I could, personally — and so did (Red Sox executives) Tom (Werner) and Larry (Lucchino) to make that happen. But the fact that is, and I think people don’t understand this, the fact is that being the general manager in Boston or being the manager in Boston is a terrifically tough job.”
Epstein got the job at age 28 in 2002.
“He never saw the general manager’s role as longer than 10 years for himself,” Henry said. “I mean, maybe he did early on, but certainly after a few years he knew the stress of this job was too much.”
The potential arrival of Epstein has Cubs fans in a tizzy. It has been greeted with even more fanfare than the hiring of marquee managers Dusty Baker and Lou Piniella in an effort to end a World Series championship drought that reached 103 years after a 71-91 finish this season.
Epstein, now 37, was at the helm when the Red Sox ended an 86-year World Series championship drought in 2004 and won the title again in 2007.
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts fired GM Jim Hendry in July after another disappointing season and wants a GM schooled in both old-school scouting and the new world of statistical analysis. The Yale-schooled Epstein would fit both requirements.
Another potential stumbling block could be which members of the Red Sox’s organization — if any — Epstein would be allowed to take with him to Chicago.
Epstein also has his critics after the Red Sox collapsed in September and missed the playoffs for a second straight year. Some of his big-contract players like John Lackey, Edgar Renteria, Daisuke Matsuzaka didn’t measure up while another, outfielder Carl Crawford, struggled in his first season with the Red Sox.
Epstein’s first order of business — if and when the deal is complete — could be to determine the future of manager Mike Quade, who has one year left on his two-year deal.
Ÿ Boston Red Sox owner John Henry popped in on a Boston radio show Friday to deny that the club conducted a smear campaign against manager Terry Francona after letting him go.Henry said he was driving in his car when he heard the hosts on 98.5 The Sports Hub accusing ownership of leaking information to the Boston Globe that reflected poorly on Francona. In a front-page article this week, the paper cited team sources who said Francona was distracted by the breakup of his marriage and painkillers he took after knee surgery.Henry denied ownership was trying to discredit the manager.Henry also said that he personally opposed signing outfielder Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million contract but leaves those decisions to the baseball people.Also, Henry said he had no idea the clubhouse culture had disintegrated, saying, #147;If Dustin Pedroia didn#146;t know, how are we supposed to know.#148;Ÿ AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen in Boston contributed.