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Source: Theo Epstein ‘on cusp’ of leaving Red Sox for Cubs 10.11.11 at 7:27 pm ET
By Alex Speier

The Boston Herald is reporting that Theo Epstein is "on the cusp" of heading to the Cubs. (AP)

A major league source confirmed a Boston Herald report, which cited two sources saying that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein “is on the cusp of leaving his job as general manager of the Red Sox to accept a position with the Chicago Cubs that is believed to include powers greater than he has in Boston, with an announcement expected to be made ‘within the next 24 to 48 hours.’”

The report suggests that there are two remaining issues, chiefly that the Sox ownership group is still trying to convince Epstein to stay, and that if he does depart, the Sox and Cubs would have to resolve the issue of compensation — whether the Sox would expect to receive a player (or players) or money in return for Epstein, the expectation is that the team would seek something in exchange for Epstein, who has one year remaining on the four-year contract he signed with the Sox after the 2008 season.

Epstein has spent the last 10 seasons with the Sox, the last nine (minus a three-month period after the 2005 season during which he left the post) as the team’s GM. He has two World Series rings and has reached the playoffs six times with the Sox. The idea of trying to bring a World Series to a championship-starved franchise in Chicago that hasn’t won a title since 1908 — on top of having already ended an 86-year championship drought in Boston — carries undeniable appeal for Epstein, according to sources familiar with his thinking. That said, the Sox have missed the postseason in each of the last two years under Epstein, a fact that was expected to complicate the GM’s decision, given his desire to leave the franchise in strong standing should he depart.

Even so, his situation was undeniably up in the air, something that has prevented the Sox, to this point, from bringing in managerial candidates. One source familiar with the situation on Monday night suggested that the delay in talking to candidates, based on Epstein’s unresolved status, might be “a couple days” or so, though at that point, it was not clear whether that meant the GM would be staying with the Sox or going to Chicago.

Sox principal owner John Henry, in an appearance on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan Show last Friday, suggested that at some point, Epstein’s tenure in Boston will end.

“Everyone has to understand a couple of things, and I think Tito alluded to this,” Henry said. “I think there’s a certain shelf life in these jobs. You can only be the general manager if you’re sane. You can only be the manager for a certain amount of time. It’s a tremendous pressure-cooker here, 162 games. It’s a long season, and the pressure here is 365 days.

“So, Theo is not going to be the general manager forever. Just as if [manager Terry Francona] had some back for the last two years, would he have gone past 10 years? I can’t imagine that he would have. I think that Theo will. He’s the guy now, he’s been the guy, we’ve had tremendous success. We fell apart at the end of the season. As [CEO/President] Larry Lucchino expressed, we’re upset about it. No fan could be more upset than I am about the result this year. But he’s done a tremendous job for us over the last eight years.”

While the Herald report would indicate that relocation to the Windy City is likely, one source familiar with the matter offered somewhat conflicting information, saying that Epstein’s departure was not yet a done deal. In that regard, history may be instructive.

On two separate occasions, the Sox have seen dramatic reversals of the status of their negotiations for their GM position.

After the 2002 season, the Sox reached an agreement with A’s GM Billy Beane to come to Boston. However, after celebrating the decision to have him assume control of the Sox, Beane changed course the next day, deciding that he wanted to stay close to his family on the West Coast rather than relocating to take the reins of the Red Sox’ baseball operations. (Epstein’s current situation, in fact, very closely mirrors that of Beane in 2002, with a number of lessons to be gleaned for what is now confronting the Red Sox.)

And in 2005, after Epstein essentially had reached an agreement with the Sox to re-sign as GM after his first three seasons on the job, he reversed course and resigned over concern about the organization’s direction. Then, nearly three months later, Epstein returned to the Sox after ironing out his philosophical differences with the organization. Both of those cases would suggest that until there is a press conference announcing a final decision by Epstein, there is some danger in jumping to conclusions about his future.

Even so, it would appear that resolution of the Epstein situation is nearing, and the possibility that the GM could be leaving Boston is very real.

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  • Anguillaman

    No one would be surprised to see Theo leave the Sox and in doing so leave behind a mess that is almost impossible to fix for a number of years. The shine has really worn off of the Theo apple and not a lot of Boston fans would be terribly upset by his leaving.

  • Bkk913 is a douche

    “The shine has really worn off of the Theo apple and not a lot of Boston fans would be terribly upset by his leaving.”

    I actually would be very disappointed if Theo left mainly because of the very good farm system they have developed under him. The free agent signings, on the whole, have been less than stellar but I still think this team is in much better shape(and with two titles) than when he took over.

    “Theo leave the Sox and in doing so leave behind a mess that is almost impossible to fix for a number of years.”

    Like what? The Lackey deal is a bad one but Crawford is still to be seen. DiceK ends next year, Drew is now off the books, Jenks ends after next year. As I mentioned earlier the only real long one that looks like zero return is Lackey at about 16 million per. You have a ton coming off this year in Drew, Papelbon, Ortiz and Scutaro with Pap probably the only must sign.

  • CarlC

    I don’t blame Theo, and I only wish him all the best. He’s a bright star, and I suspect LL has been interfering with his (Theo’s) job since Theo began.

    I hope he stays with us….

    But WHO would want to work with Larry? Yes, good business mind, but an intrusive snake is my guess.

    We’ll never know, but I blame Lackey on LL. And host of other maladies.

    Poison at the top = poison at the bottom, which happened to the Sox this year.

    Go and prosper, Tito and Theo. We’ll never see the likes of you again.

  • Steven

    Here’s and idea, Wish Epstein luck and do not hire a general manager. The fans could do a better job. Heck, I would have had Matt Kemp already on the team. The money they save from Theo’s salary can help land Albert Pujols and yes, you sign him for 7 years with a 3 years – see how your doing option clause to get him to 10 years. We need that 3-4 punch again. Pujols and Gonzo might deliver.

  • MJP

    Great ability to draft and evaluate young talent yet somehow completely inept at evaluating talent in Free Agency….good luck to Theo and the Cubs and let’s hope the Owners here in Boston get their heads checked.

  • Chris

    Changes are sometime needed..the yanks did it a few years ago…and we said was they would fall hard…look at them they are still the team to beat.The Sox have many great pieces in place and just need a couple of pitchers in place and team chemistry( glue not a patch)

  • Chris

    Theo gave the Sox 10 years and 2 WS,….thank-you…but no person on this earth is irreplaceable…there’s 29 other teams with coaches and gm’s ..
    can’t be to hard to find 100′s that don’t have jobs but is able enough to run baseball team.

  • Flashdawg

    There’s no knocking Theo for being the GM when the Sox won two world series, but I think it’s time for a change. His free agent signings have been poor, and unfortunately, the more expensive the worse the contract. His in-season trades have been lackluster with minimal impact. Finally, I’m so tired of hearing about this vaunted farm system that he’s developed. It’s a fantasy. As the ship was sinking this summer where were all the impact minor leaguers to the rescue? He’s got Papelbon, Bucholz, Elsbury, Pedroia, and Bard. Five major league players developed over 9 years. How’s that compare with Tampa Bay? No disrespect intend, I just think it’s best for all if he moves on now. Makes no sense to have a GM with one year left on his contract selecting the new manager. Theo and Tito will always have their place in Red Sox history.

  • Chris

    Agreed Flashdawg,….no reason to knock him…2 WS Titles under him…was great…just time to move on.Like Henry stated GM’s jobs come and go…It’s not like Theo would be here forever.

  • EarlSweatshirt

    Steven, I hope your comment was sincere and not just a troll post. That was gold.

  • John Daley

    Tito,
    not far behind!!

  • Bkk913 is a douche

    “He’s got Papelbon, Bucholz, Elsbury, Pedroia, and Bard. Five major league players developed over 9 years. ”

    But you have to realize he traded away talent because of deadline and off season deals such as Agon, Schilling, Victor Martinez, Salty, Beckett(either him or whoever was in charge), and a few trade busts that cost prospects like Gagne.

    Here is a great article on the prospects if they actually stayed with the Sox and what their lineup might be.

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/343739-the-real-difference-between-the-boston-red-sox-and-new-york-yankees

  • Bkk913 is a douche
  • Flashdawg

    Justin Masterson is the only prospect drafted by Theo that I can think of that the Sox traded away in one of those deals that has developed into a productive major leaguer. Hanley Ramirez was signed by Doucette in 2000 before Theo got here. I’m not saying that Theo has been bad with the farm system, but to suggest that it’s been a wildly successful farm system under Theo watch is an exaggeration. I do give him a lot of credit for the way they hype/promote their prospects and keeping them off the big league roster to maximize their value.

  • 15 DAY DL

    Good Riddance…Don’t let the door hit you in the ass. He screwed Tito with 6 weeks left in the season by telling Henry he had to go and then pretended like it didn’t happen. Francona will be a huge loss. This guy won;t be at all.

  • 04redsox

    gradey is still availabel

  • Joe

    I think the compensation should be they take John Lackey and his FULL salary with him.

  • Ryan

    Overrated. Just like Alex.

  • the dube.

    Don’t for get to send Dan Duquette his 04 ring before you leave. wish you could take all the high priced baggage with you but you got the sox locked into those salaries for a while. Good riddance…..

  • Howard Cosell

    Don’t forget to take John Lackey with you. If I had my way he would have been in the bullpen all year.

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