Cubs reportedly will name Rick Renteria new manager

The Chicago Cubs will announce who they have hired as their new manager on Thursday, and all signs point to San Diego Padres bench coach Rick Renteria being the choice, Gammonsdaily.com reports.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale took it step farther Wednesday night, reporting that Renteria will receive a three-year contract plus two option years.

Renteria, 51, who had a brief major league career as a utility infielder in the 1980s and 1990s, has been a Padres coach since 2008. He was named bench coach before the 2011 season.

Renteria also has extensive minor league managing and coaching experience and was the manager of Team Mexico during the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He also interviewed for the managerial vacancies of the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariers.

The Cubs are looking to replace Dale Sveum, who was 127-197 over two seasons.

Besides Renteria, they interviewed former Mariners and Indians manager Eric Wedge, Rays bench coach Dave Martinez, former Nationals and Indians manager Manny Acta, former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch, and Brad Ausmus, who was hired by the Tigers on Sunday.

They were also interested in talking to Boston bench coach Torey Lovullo. But according to reports, the Red Sox invoked an agreement banning Cubs president Theo Epstein from hiring any of their employees over a three-year period.

Either way, the Cubs are turning to Renteria, the next step as they try to deliver on the promise that accompanied team president Theo Epstein's arrival in October 2011.

They've been shedding longterm contracts and trading anyone of value in an effort to stock up the farm system ever since Epstein was hired, hoping the payoff will ultimately be the sort of championship success he enjoyed in Boston. So far, losses have been adding up at a staggering rate, but the record wasn't the main reason for Sveum's dismissal.

Player development was.

Shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, two key young players who have long-term contracts, each took a step back this year. Pitcher Jeff Samardzija also had an up-and-down season.

With hitting prospects Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Kris Bryant on the way, the Cubs made it clear they want to provide the right environment for their young players to develop.

Getting the most out of Castro, Rizzo and to some degree Samardzija will be the most immediate task for the new manager, assuming they're not traded.

Castro continues to be a head scratcher, prone to lapses in the field, and he couldn't make up for it at the plate. The two-time All-Star's average has been in a steady decline, going from a high of .307 in 2011 to a career-low .245 this year.

Rizzo batted just .233 with 23 homers and 80 RBIs in 160 games, not what the Cubs were looking for after a promising season the year before. In 2012, he hit 285 while knocking out 15 homers and driving in 48 runs in 87 games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.