Ok, so here's what I know. Theo has agreed to a 5 year contract worth $18.5M and he and the Red Sox Front Office have told him he can't take any staff with him to Chicago. The only issue right now is compensation and that is supposedly being handled directly by John Henry and Tom Ricketts, Owner of the Cubs. I'm guessing the conversations go something like:
John Henry: "Alright Tom, here's a list of your top 10 prospects. If you're taking Theo I want at least 2 of them."
Tom Ricketts: "Come on John, can't I just give you a couple million bucks and call it a deal? ..Hello? ...John?"
Seriously, the Sox have all the leverage, despite what people think. If Henry and Ricketts can't agree on compensation and the deal falls through, the Sox can just take him back. Cherington hasn't been officially promoted and Theo is still the GM of the Red Sox. Epstein was #1 on the Cubs' wish list of GM's and they have an agreement with him in place. Cubbies fans won't be too happy if they don't end up with Theo, despite what they say.
My guess on compensation is that it will be pretty steep. Hopefully one top guy from the High A-Level and one from the Rookie Leagues with high upside. Just to give you an example, the Salem Red Sox are a High-A team and the Gulf Coast Red Sox and the DSL (Dominican Summer League) Red Sox are rookie league teams. So, my hope is for Matt Sczur and Jeimer Candelario. The Sox don't need guys that will step in and help the big club right away, they need to re-stock the farm. Matt Sczur can go into Salem and be their everyday catcher and Jeimer Candelario could step into either the Gulf Coast Red Sox or the Spinners and make his way through the system.
I see the Sox continuing to play hardball with the Cubs because, again, the Sox have all the leverage, and the Cubs will eventually cave and give the Sox what they want.
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