CHICAGO _ When asked Saturday at the Cubs Convention if manager Joe Maddon would return next season, Cubs President Theo Epstein said: "I sure hope so."
Maddon's contract expires after the 2019 season, and despite rampant speculation about a potential replacement, Mark Loretta is merely focused on his new duties as bench coach after spending nine seasons in the Padres' front office.
"You can read things into it," Loretta said. "But as far as I'm concerned, (managing) was not on my radar and nothing we talked to (general manager) Jed Hoyer and Theo about.
"Joe is a huge reason I was interested in taking this job. He's one of the best managers in the game, one of the best people. I look forward to learning from him."
Loretta, who signed a two-year contract, said "part of this is testing how much I like coaching and want to be involved. I'm not going to ease into this. I'm all in, for sure. We'll see how it leads."
