Theo Esptein Talks Red Sox

Welcome back to Boston, Boy Wonder.

Former Red Sox GM and current Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein joined WEEI's resident assclowns Dennis and Callahan yesterday morning, talking about both the Cubs and the Red Sox. Here's what Pearl Jam had to say about the Sox...

• Theo said that he and current Red Sox GM Ben Cherington had discussed Epstein's possible departure from the organization for years.
• Epstein on last season's off-field issues: "There were periods that were just as unproductive and contentious in 2004".
• On the subject of Jonathan Papelbon's departure to the Phillies, Theo said, "You can get in trouble sometimes giving huge four-year deals to closers". Epstein said that Papelbon will be missed in Boston, but the additions of Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon should help the bullpen recover from the loss.
• Theo also said that Carl Crawford didn't let his athleticism translate into success last season, but he expects Crawford to have better results in 2012 and beyond.
• Epstein said that Red Sox owner John Henry "wasn't a proponent" of the Crawford deal, but Theo wanted to sign him.
• Epstein also said that the Red Sox should obtain compensation for his departure, but referred to Andy MacPhail's move to the Cubs in 1994 and said that they shouldn't get much from Chicago.

Everything else he talked about had to do with the Cubs, and I don't know about you guys, but I really don't care about the Cubs. Not one bit. So, I won't post anything he said about the Cubs. If you want to see what else he had to say, check out the story on MLB Trade Rumors.

Selig Sets Deadline for Sox, Cubs Compensation Talks

According to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com, Bud Selig told reporters at the World Series that he has told the Red Sox and the Cubs that they have until November 1st to work out a compensation package for Theo before he intervenes and acts as mediator. It's also been reported that the Sox and Cubs have agreed to discontinue compensation talks until after tomorrow's press conference, when the Cubs introduce their new Baseball Operations Regime of Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and Jason McLeod, and the Red Sox introduce Ben Cherington as General Manager. It's also expected that, after everything is done and over with, the Red Sox will promote current Director of Player Development Mike Hazen to Assistant GM.

Also, MLB's VP of Baseball Operations Joe Torre has said that he will investigate the reports of Red Sox players drinking in the clubhouse and will take appropriate action based on his findings. Hopefully he punishes Lackey by allowing the Red ox to release the fat shit without having to pay the rest of his salary. That'll never happen, but a guy can dream can't he?

Theo Resigns and Takes Over Position With Cubs

Now Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein resigned from his position with the Red Sox last night and was named the Cubs' new President of Baseball Operations.

The Red Sox and Cubs officially announced last night in a joint press release by the two teams. The move is effective immediately. Both organizations declined to comment any further until they make announcements and introductions on Tuesday. It's also being reported that the Cubs will hire former Red Sox Assistant GM and soon to be former Padres GM Jed Hoyer to assume the same title under Epstein's Baseball Ops regime, along with former Red Sox Director of Amature Scouting and soon to be former Padres Assistant GM Jason McLeod to assume the same title he had in San Diego under Epstein and Hoyer.

First off, the Theo announcement is not a surprise. This just makes it easier for the clubs to work out compensation (Theo and Cherington will do the talking). I am surprised to see Hoyer and McLeod leave San Diego so soon, especially just to assume the same titles they had with the Padres. Probably 'cause Hoyer is Theo's boyfriend and McLeod is that little geeky kid who follows people wherever they go (I can't those people). Second, I really hope this doesn't drag out any longer, because it was beyond ridiculous for it to take 10 days for an official announcement (or in this case press release). It's also been reported by Peter Gammons on NESN.com that the two sides had agreed to deals multiple times but John Henry nixed every single one of them. I'm hoping that's because he didn't consider it good enough, 'cause if he's just getting involved to get involved he's an asshole. Also, if the two sides can't reach a deal soon then MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is expected to step in and act as arbitrator of negotiations.

Anyways, it's expected that on Tuesday the Cubs will introduce Theo as President of Baseball Operations, Jed Hoyer as General Manager, and Jason McLeod as Assistant General Manager, and the Red Sox are expected to introduce Ben Cherington as General Manager. Now us Sox fans can finally move on and think about who they're going to trade (please trade Lackey, please trade Youkilis, please trade Beckett) and who they're going to hire as the new Manager and who will be the new Assistant GM.

Red Sox Focusing on Trey McNutt as Compensation

Pitcher Trey McNutt is apparently the focus of Epstein compensation talks

According to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago, the Red Sox have begun to focus on right hander Trey McNutt as compensation from the Cubs. It's still unclear whether the Sox are asking for more or not, but according to Mooney, outfielder Brett Jackson has been deemed untouchable while players such as Josh Vitters (didn't want him anyways) and Matt Sczur (damn it) are considered unlikely. Also, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, the Sox have been asking for "ridiculous combinations", which is a good thing considering the fact that Chicago just wants to fork over some cash. Depending on how many people Theo takes with him though, the Sox could get more than expected, and I personally think if Theo takes a bunch of his guys with him, they deserve to get Brett Jackson included in the talks, even if he's considered unlikely.

On another note, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com, the Sox originally asked for right hander Matt Garza as compensation. Obviously the Cubs said no, 'cause he's their best pitcher, but I credit the Sox front office for having the balls to ask for him. They didn't have any chance of getting him in return, but asking for him shows the Cubs that you mean business and aren't just going to sit back and settle for less.

Let's Hear What John Henry Has to Say

Red Sox Owner John Henry stopped by the Sports Hub and demanded to be heard

So Sox Owner John Henry was cruising around in his car listening to the Sports Hub (seriously?) and got pretty pissed off at what he was hearing. So he decided to stop by and demand to be heard. Felger and Mazz were on the air at the time and obviously they let him on the air, 'cause if they said no they'd be the biggest idiots in the history of talk radio. So, here are the highlights of what he said:

• Henry says he opposed the Crawford signing but "deferred to Theo Epstein and the rest of baseball operations". I'm calling bullshit. Let's put it this way. If you have $120M and someone offers you a $120M car that you don't like, why in hell would you buy it? Exactly, you wouldn't. That was such a stupid thing to say. And even if he did oppose the Crawford signing, why would you make that public when Crawford's confidence is extremely low? That's gonna make his feel great. "Wow. The fans hate me and now the owner hates me." That's gonna do wonders for him next season. Then again, who am I to speak? He could be at the bank hearing that and thinking "Ha ha ha" as he cahses his $20M check.
• The Crawford signing and the Gonzalez trade were not moves made to boost NESN ratings. I think it's pretty obvious the Gonzalez trade was one made because Theo wanted him (he's wanted him for years). But the Crawford signing, assuming Henry did oppose it, was one that was made because A) Theo wanted him and B) Henry knew it would boost NESN ratings, 'cause last year everything was about the business, not the team.
• Old Man Lucchino is expected to sign a multiyear deal this winter. Son of a bitch....
• Henry denied that it was any one of him, Lucchino, or Werner that gave Bob Hohler the information for the Francona smear campaign story he wrote. He said that he was investigating who gave the information and he would get to the bottom of it.

I think the best thing we can take out of this is that Henry showed that he does truly care about this team. Lately it's seemed like making money was more important to him (Rousch-Fenway Racing, Liverpool, LeBron Fucking James). But if he didn't care he wouldn't have driven down to frigging Brighton to get on the air and defend him and the rest of ownership. So overall, this was a good sign.

What Will be the Compensation for Epstein?

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.

Epstein Agrees to Deal With Cubs



Now Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs

 It's official. Theo Epstein has left the Red Sox organization and is now the President of Baseball Operations and General Manager of the Chicago Cubs. News came last night that the Cubs were on the cusp of a deal with Epstein and now the only thing keeping it from being official is compensation. It appears the two sides are determining whether the compensation will be Minor Leaguers or cash compensation, and according to SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) the Sox prefer cash. The likely scenario is that after the deal and the compensation are finalized, the Red Sox will promote Assistant GM Ben Cherington to take Theo's place. The proposed contract for Theo is 5 years and around $20M.

Theo Epstein is "On Cusp" of Deal with Chicago

GM Theo Epstein may in fact be leaving the Red Sox for a position wth the Chicago Cubs

According to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is "on the cusp" of a deal with the Cubs. The Sox still hope to retain Theo, but there apparently is already an agreement for Theo to leave his position with Boston for one in Chicago that includes "greater powers than he has in Boston". If Epstein does in fact leave, the Sox will demand "something real" as compensation. An announcement is expected within the next 24 to 48 hours. Updates will be forthcoming as I find them.

Is Theo Leaving?

GM Theo Epstein may be Chicago bound

Right now, the biggest question on most Red Sox fans' minds is, "Is Theo going to Chicago or is he staying here?". There's a lot of speculation surrounding this matter, and while a lot of reports seem to imply that Theo is on his way out the door, SI's Jon Heyman says that, unless something changes, Theo is staying in Boston. I personally would like to see the Sox give Old Man Lucchino the boot and promotote Theo to co-CEO along with Sam Kennedy and make Ben Cherington, currently Theo's right hand man, the GM. This has also been speculated in a tweet from NESN and MLB's Peter Gammons. I wouldn't mind seeing this, especially when Cherington has been working under Theo for quite a while now. But, if Theo were to go to the Cubs, the Sox would most definitely ask for heavy compensation. Probably two of their top-tier pitching prospects. Makes sense too, especially since the Marlins gave up two for their top 5 prospects for Ozzie Guillen. And let's face it, Ozzie is the managerial version of Carlos Zambrano. He's not a very good manager, but the White Sox were still very heavily compensated. Imagine the Cubs hiring Theo, who is a great GM, and the compensation the Sox would get. Pretty freakin' steep. So, while it looks like Theo is staying right now, things could change any day and he could be on a plane to Chicago before we know it.