Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was in the final year of his current contract with the team.
However, Epstein will not see that final year through, with Jed Hoyer taking over for him:
Theo Epstein will step down from his role as President of Baseball Operations effective Nov. 20 and depart the organization after nine seasons.
Jed Hoyer, who joined the club in Nov. 2011 as Executive VP/General Manager, will be named President of Baseball Operations. pic.twitter.com/SDeF826SFH
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 17, 2020
Epstein released this statement:
Here is Theo Epstein’s statement on his decision to step down… pic.twitter.com/r9wzOJpjZf
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) November 17, 2020
There are multiple ways to look at this decision.
For starters, there had been rumblings about Epstein moving on either this year or in 2021. He has often been one to seek out new challenges and, after nearly a decade with the Cubs, might have felt it was time to move on. This statement from Cubs owner Tom Ricketts seems to hint at that:
#Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts: “Theo and I have been communicating about this possible move for a couple of years, and we have been working together toward a transition that makes sense for the Cubs and for him.”
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) November 17, 2020
It is also possible Epstein and the front office had philosophical differences as to how to proceed this offseason.
Buster Olney of ESPN reported the Cubs were “signaling” the willingness to trade any number of veterans and even core players like shortstop Javier Baez.
Epstein said during his postseason press conference there might be significant change, but perhaps there was some disagreement regarding how best to go about change. Then again, Hoyer has always closely aligned with Epstein in terms of player development and personnel management, so perhaps Theo decided his time was simply up.
Regardless, Epstein will go down as arguably the best executive in Cubs history.
After joining the team ahead of the 2012 season, Epstein began to rebuild the club from the ground up. The Cubs would make three consecutive National League Championship Series appearances between 2015 and 2017, ending a 108-year drought by winning the World Series in 2016.
While the last few years have been cause for disappointment on the North Side, Epstein's role in delivering the franchise its long-awaited title will never be forgotten.
As for Epstein's own future, it looks like he wants to take the year off, with the possibility of getting back into baseball as part of an ownership group after that.
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