The future of Theo Epstein has been a topic of discussion after a report came out saying the Cubs president of baseball operations would meet with chairman Tom Ricketts to discuss his future.
Epstein addressed the report during his season-ending press conference and his plans to sit down with Ricketts to discuss the future of the franchise.
“Every season, we get together as leadership, baseball ... leadership and ownership, and we talk about the state of the club, the state of the organization, what lies ahead in the future, how to improve going forward and how to position ourselves for long term success,” Epstein said.
“As part of that process, I usually meet one-on-one with Tom as well. So those are meetings that we’re looking forward to having. We’re hoping to do it quietly behind the scenes, we’ll still do it as quietly as possible.”
Epstein made it clear that his focus is on getting the Cubs ready for the next season and he and Ricketts expect things to remain “status quo” going into 2021.
“My expectation is that I’ll be here,” Epstein said. “My expectation also is that I’m going to do whatever is best for the Cubs every day and that means being thoughtful about a transition whenever that may come.”
The Cubs’ president of baseball operations has always held the belief that change after 10 years is necessary and during Monday’s press conference, he didn’t shy away from those feelings and mentioned being prepared for transition when the time came.
Epstein, 46, is entering the final year of the five-year deal he signed back in 2016.
“I’ve been transparent about my feeling that after a certain period of time, there can be real benefit for both an individual leader and for the organization for change and I’ve not backed away from that. I think I mentioned it, the first day I was a Cub and again when I signed my second contract, so I’m not gonna run away from those feelings.
“But I also am as invested in the Chicago Cubs, as our leader in baseball operations today, as I was, at any point in the last nine years, and I woke up this morning thinking about how we can improve for next year and position ourselves for long term success.”
If the Cubs have to search for a new team president at the end of the Epstein era, the most likely candidate would be current general manager Jed Hoyer. Hoyer has been one of the main cogs of the Cubs baseball-operations department since 2011 and would be the smoothest transition.
“Jed is someone who’s been a huge part of the success here at the Cubs and at the Red Sox before that,” Epstein said. “He’s also someone who’s already been a successful number one in baseball operations when he served as the general manager of the Padres.
“I recognize those qualities and everything that he brings to the table and how much he’s done for this organization and Tom and the Ricketts family do too. So that’s obviously a factor when you start to set out and discuss what a transition might look like. But have there been any decisions made or is there any firm succession plan or transition plan in place? No, those are exactly the things that we have to talk about moving forward.”
