Team president of baseball operations Theo Epstein joined the Cubs on Wednesday, the day they officially were eliminated from postseason contention, and will be with the team the rest of the season … and beyond, he insists.
While speculation about the Cubs' future, especially manager Joe Maddon's status, continues to simmer, Espstein, who is under contract through 2021, turned off the heat under rumors involving his name.
Specifically, he refuted a report in The Boston Globe suggesting "amid the Red Sox speculation is an intriguing name: Theo Epstein."
The Red Sox recently fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
“There’s nothing to that story,” Epstein told reporters (via the Chicago Sun-Times). “I’m here. We have a lot we need to work on to get back to the level we’re accustomed to. I’m invested in that. That’s what I’m focused on.”
Raised in Boston, where he was the Red Sox's GM from 2002-11, Epstein said earlier this month that neither he, general manager Jed Hoyer nor executive Jason McLeod was linked to the vacant Red Sox position.
“That’s still true,” Epstein reiterated. “I have really good relationships with a lot of people there and I certainly wish them the best, but there’s nothing to that story.”
Epstein joined the Cubs on Wednesday in Pittsburgh and is expected to remain with team through the season-ending road trip that concludes with three games in St. Louis, where their only tangible goal is to rob the playoff-bound and archrival Cardinals of the NL Central title.
Entering Thursday's games, the Brewers (88-70) trailed the first-place Cardinals (90-69) by 1 1/2 games. The Cubs, 82-76 and losers of eight straight, were mathematically eliminated Wednesday.
Epstein's near-term agenda includes meeting with Maddon, whose five-year contract expires after the season, to discuss his future with the Cubs.
