Theo Ditching Chicago for Boston? Boston Reporter Says he Was in Town
Before we jump any guns here, Theo Epstein is from Boston, but nonetheless, this rumor could have legs.
.@LouMerloni on Theo Epstein:
"I had someone tell me that Theo was in town Sunday night"#DirtyWater #RedSox
— Jones & Mego with Arcand (@JonesandMego) September 24, 2019
There has been some noise that the Chicago Cubs ownership has soured a bit on Theo. In turn, Theo very well could be upset with ownership as well.
Here’s what I’m getting at… there was absolutely a change in available funds before the last offseason started. Otherwise, Theo’s strong words and commitment to change what was broken was just words to excite a fanbase, without action behind it. That has NOT been Theo Epstein. He hasn’t been that guy that offers talking points that sound good on the news, but he doesn’t follow through on.
Next, picking up the $20 million option on Cole Hamels make no sense whatsoever. Why would Theo blow all the money he has, before free agency even started?
However, if ownership soured on Theo and began to not believe he could fix whatever was broken with money, already knowing they were already investing more than $200 million for the first time in the organization’s history? Maybe they decided enough was enough and had no interest in opening up more funds for the 2019 roster. Maybe, just maybe, ownership lost faith in Epstein?
If that was the case, it would make sense that Theo entertained other options. With Boston’s top spot open again, and Theo’s affection for the Red Sox, perhaps he thought why not start a communication with them?
The Cubs would potentially be fine. He’d Hoyer would likely move up a peg, and recently promoted Jason McLeod takes over the general manager duties. McLeod has interviewed for GM jobs, and with a solid mentor in Hoyer, McLeod would be a fine option to take over that role with the Cubs.
With much of the Cubs front office coming from Boston, it isn’t a stretch that the Red Sox would tap the Cubs shoulders for some of those guys. There have been rumors that they’d call Hoyer, same with McLeod, there was even a mention that the Vubs promoted Jason to try and protect him from leaving.
This is hearsay, like when fans spot free agents in local Starbucks, but as I keep seeing more and more people talk about it, and now real media members tweeting it, maybe there’s real legs?
