The Red Sox acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd from the Cubs on Saturday. (AP)

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said that the Red Sox approached his team about the possibility of acquiring outfielder Marlon Byrd once Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury went down with injury. With the Cubs featuring some interesting outfield prospects (notably including Brett Jackson as well as Tony Campana) in their farm system who are knocking on the door to the majors, Chicago embraced the opportunity to deal Byrd to the Red Sox in exchange for reliever Michael Bowden and a player to be named later. Hoyer said that the player to be named would be a pitcher whom the Cubs will choose from a list by the end of May.

Byrd, 34, is off to a terrible start this year. In 47 plate appearances, he is hitting .070 with a .149 OBP, .070 slugging mark and .219 OPS. However, Hoyer said both that the slow start did not create the team’s willingness to deal Byrd and that, in fact, he expects the center fielder to rebound in Boston.

“Our feeling was we’ve been trying to acquire relief pitching since the end of the winter. We felt like an area we have some surplus with young players we want to play is in the outfield so that was a big part of it,” Hoyer told reporters in Chicago after the trade. “The slow start, a lot of guys have a bad 45, 50 plate appearance stretch. We wouldn’t be doing our job well if we let that play into it. This is something we talked about going back to spring training. We felt we had some guys who can be a big part of our future. Realistically, Marlon was in the last year of his deal and we felt we wanted to give some plate appearances to other guys.”

Hoyer thinks that Byrd will benefit from the change of scenery, including the fact that he’ll get a do-over with his batting average.

“I think he’s excited to have the opportunity in Boston, knowing they’ve had some injuries and some playing time. You’re on a big stage in Chicago and he’s going to be on a big stage in Boston and I think he relishes that. I think he’s excited about going to Boston. I think he’ll be successful there for sure,” Hoyer told reporters. “His slow start is really uncharacteristic for him. I think he’ll heat up here. Maybe it helps him. Obviously, he’s been in a little bit of a funk and sort of having the batting average reset and going to the American League might be a good thing for him.” Read the rest of this entry »

After being dealt from the Cubs, Chris Carpenter eyes a spot with the Red Sox. (AP)

FORT MYERS, Fla. — When you’re the player involved in the most-publicized trade of the offseason, you learn to adjust to the attention.

So it was for Chris Carpenter in the last several weeks as word spread that he could be the pitcher on the Cubs’ 40-man roster that would be going to Boston to complete the compensation package for Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein.

His first reaction?

“It was kind of one of those things where it was a little bit of a shock,” Carpenter said. “But I’m excited to be here and get to work.

“We all knew something was going to happen. It was like one of those things where we talked about, ‘What if it was you?’ You try not to think about it all the time. It was me and I’m here now and I’m happy to be here. It’s something you don’t really think about but it’s kind of cool.”

Still, while reporting to Arizona, where the Cubs train, Carpenter did his level best not to think about moving too much.

“We tried not to talk about it,” he said. “It was one of those things where we knew something was coming,” Carpenter said Friday in front of his locker. “You didn’t want to take away from getting your work done on the field [by] talking about that and always worrying about that but it was just one of those things where they called me in and told me and I’m here.”

Once it was over, Carpenter said his goodbyes to Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer and the Cubs staff and was ready to move on.

“I met Theo and Jed,” Carpenter said. “They were both good guys in the short time I knew them. Jed took me into the office and told me. Theo was back in Boston for family issues but he called me and left me a nice voicemail. He was nice about the whole issue.

“He was really business-like and our coaches were in the office, too, and they had been traded before and they just told me to just take a positive attitude. Everybody was really professional about the whole thing.”

The 26-year-old right-hander appeared in 42 combined games in relief at Double-A, Triple-A and for the Cubs in 2011. With the big league club he posted a 2.79 ERA in 10 relief outings in his first major league action. He is 21-19 with a 3.62 ERA in four minor league seasons.

What can he bring to the Red Sox?

“Power arm reliever,” said Carpenter, who’s been clocked between 95 and 97 MPH. “Hopefully, come out and throw strikes and I’ll get [people] out in the late innings of the game.”

His command is what has held him back to this point, walking 159 batters in 341 innings in four minor league seasons, after the Cubs selected him in the third round of the 2008 draft. Read the rest of this entry »

Theo Epstein (AP)

In the eight days between the time when Theo Epstein accepted an offer from the Cubs to become their next President of Baseball Operations and the day Epstein formally resigned from the Red Sox, Chicago scribes wrote countless stories about how Epstein would be their savior, who the Cubs would lost to compensation, and how quickly Epstein would be able to bring the Cubs a World Series Championship.

It would seem that, when Epstein officially joined the Cubs Friday night, the Chicago media would not have much more to say about him. But after the announcement Friday night confirming Epstein’s departure from Boston, Chicago writers churned out more stories about Epstein’s past and the organization’s future.

Here is a collection of the latest reactions from the Windy City. Read the rest of this entry »

According to multiple industry sources, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will have some familiar members of his baseball operations staff once he joins the Cubs. Epstein is expected to be named something along the lines of president of baseball operations, with Padres GM Jed Hoyer – who worked with Epstein and the Sox from 2002-09, rising from the position of intern to Assistant GM — leaving San Diego to become general manager of the Cubs. As first reported by FoxSports.com, those sources also confirm that Padres Assistant GM Jason McLeod, formerly the director of amateur scouting in Boston, is expected to go to Chicago in a senior management position in baseball operations.

With two of his most trusted evaluators from Boston joining him in Chicago, Epstein will have a familiar operating environment. Given the success of the Red Sox in building their farm system under Epstein and the Padres’ similar success in doing so in two years under Hoyer (with McLeod playing key roles for both GMs in those cities), it will be interesting to see if the Cubs find it easier to compromise in negotiations with the Sox about compensation for Epstein’s departure.

After all, some of the most discussed names in a potential deal are viewed as solid but not exceptional prospects. For instance, Brett Jackson — who is reportedly off limits — has the sort of well-rounded skill set and ceiling as a player like Ryan Kalish who is already in the Red Sox system. One scout referred to right-hander Trey McNutt, who has reportedly has become subject to something of a tug-of-war between the Sox and Cubs in talks, as “Kyle Weiland with more velocity,” meaning a pitcher who might be a back-of-the-rotation starter or a late-innings reliever, but not someone who anchors a pitching staff.

The group of Epstein, Hoyer and McLeod would undoubtedly have its sights on creating a Chicago player development machine that would yield higher-impact prospects than those who have been discussed. As such, it will be interesting to see whether the Cubs and Red Sox will soon find it easier to reach agreement on the compensation agreement.

With Hoyer and McLeod leaving San Diego, Padres Vice President of Baseball Operations Josh Byrnes – formerly the Assistant GM in Boston under Epstein, and then the general manager in Arizona under current Padres owner Jeff Moorad — will become the GM of the Padres.

CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan appeared on the Mut & Merloni show Thursday morning to share the latest news from Chicago on the continuing Theo Epstein saga.

Kaplan, who has been ahead of the curve on most reports from negotiations thus far, said sources told him the Epstein deal should be official by the weekend.

“I think the deal is basically done,” Kaplan said. “I think you will hear the agreement leaked out a little bit later today. I think tomorrow there will be a press conference at Wrigley Field to introduce Theo Epstein as the new president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs . . . I think then what you will see is probably three, four days from now, there will be another announcement that Jed Hoyer is coming in as the general manager.”

Kaplan said he still was not sure who would be included as compensation for losing Epstein, but claimed Cubs top prospect Brett Jackson and star pitcher Matt Garza would not be part of the deal. Kaplan also denied perceptions that the pressure in Chicago is less than that in Boston, saying Epstein has been likened to a god in Chicago because people expect so much out of him. Kaplan denied, however, that the Red Sox had the upper hand in negotiations, hinting that the Red Sox did not want him back.

“They have built Theo up to be the God here,” Kaplan said. “The messiah to come save the Cubs. But he couldn’t go back to work in Boston. There was no chance the Boston Red Sox were letting him back in the front office to make value decisions on that team.”

Following is a transcript of the conversation. To hear the interview, go the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. Read the rest of this entry »

Days after reports emerged announcing Theo Epstein's imminent arrival in Chicago, Epstein has still yet to appear publicly at Wrigley Field.

Negotiations between the Cubs and Red Sox seemed to reach a sticking point over the weekend, but according to the Chicago media, talks have progressed since Wednesday, and a deal for Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein seems imminent once more. The newest twist in the Epstein saga includes Padres general manager and former Red Sox assistant general manager Jed Hoyer leaving the Padres to become the Cubs GM while Epstein would be named president of baseball operations.

Hoyer was the assistant general manager in Boston from 2005-09 and was involved in the deal that brought Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to Boston.

Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com writes that despite a traditional ban on major announcements during the World Series, the Cubs may be able to announce Theo Epstein as their new president of baseball operations with Jed Hoyer serving as his GM. Levine also asserts sources told him the deal could be done Thursday.

David Kaplan of CSN Chicago reports significant progress has been made in negotiations between the Red Sox and Cubs and the deal could be announced as soon as Friday as long as MLB commissioner Bud Selig lets the teams make a major announcement during the World Series.

Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago speculates on compensation, saying that the Cubs are overprotective of their farm system because they don’t have many top-end prospects and do not want to lose the few they do have, especially after the Rays took high-end prospects Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee and Brandon Guyer in last winter’s deal for Matt Garza.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune examines the possibility of Jed Hoyer joining the Cubs by exploring Hoyer’s relationship with Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and investigating the moves he made both with the Red Sox and the Padres.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune gives a less optimistic picture of negotiations between the Cubs and Red Sox, saying MLB commissioner Bud Selig may enter talks in order to facilitate a deal because he is fed up with the compensation delays.

At least one man in Chicago is not happy with the idea of Epstein as president and Hoyer as GM. Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune opines that he does not want an interim GM (Epstein) in order to get a real GM (Hoyer). He also wonders why it has to be this difficult to replace former GM Jim Hendry.

The Chicago Sun-Times bucks the trend of suggesting a deal could be completed on Thursday for Epstein when Chris De Luca claims that despite some progression in talks, the deal may not be completed until next week. The Sun-Times also reveals sources who say Epstein may be interested in bringing vice president of business affairs Jonathan Gilula with him to Chicago. Gilula was a key contributor in the Fenway Park renovations.

The Chicago Sun-Times also warns that Epstein may not be an immediate hit in Chicago, as sometimes players can be wild cards that unfairly reflect on the GM who acquires them.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that progress continues in the Epstein talks and says the Red Sox are now considering cash compensation as part of the deal, something they initially refused to consider.

Rangers GM Jon Daniels has built a World Series-caliber team for the second straight year. (AP)

Long gone are the days when Jon Daniels received vexed looks by those who could not believe that he was old enough to be a major league general manager.

Daniels is still the youngest GM in the majors at 34, but he has spent six years in charge of building the Rangers’ organization, and in 2011, for the second straight year, he has steered Texas into the World Series. A combination of tremendously talented homegrown players, savvy trades and occasional dips into free agency have cemented the perception that the Rangers under Daniels have become one of the best organizations in the game.

For that reason, it is fascinating to consider his baseball roots — both where he did and did not get his start.

Daniels went to Cornell and received his degree in Applied Economics and Management. Out of college, he lived in the Boston area while working for Allied Domecq, a company that was dealing with the branding of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. The undertaking was uninteresting, and so, following the path of college friend A.J. Preller (now the Rangers Senior Director of Player Personnel, who was then an intern with the Phillies), Daniels decided in 2001 to seek an internship in a baseball front office.

He lived in Boston, and so the first place to interview was obvious enough. Daniels submitted his resume to the Red Sox. At that time, the Sox were in the early stages of creating a baseball operations internship program, a task that had been entrusted to then-baseball operations assistant Ben Cherington by then-GM Dan Duquette as a means of injecting young talent into the team’s front office structure. Read the rest of this entry »