With the transition atop the Chicago Cubs front office underway — Theo Epstein is stepping down as president of baseball operations at the end of the week, and general manager Jed Hoyer is stepping into that role — here are four observations from Tuesday’s announcement from Wrigley Field.
1. Patience is a virtue.
Patience is one of Jed Hoyer’s strong suits, and that quality paid off with the announcement Tuesday that he will replace Theo Epstein as Cubs president.
On more than one occasion over the years, I’ve asked Hoyer why he chose to remain as general manager of the Cubs instead of going to an organization where he would be the top dog.
Surely he didn’t want to be Epstein’s wing man forever, right?
Hoyer assured me he was fine with his status as Epstein’s second in command and always felt one day he would be running a team on his own.
Epstein’s 10-year plan was no secret, so maybe Hoyer knew this day was coming. But he couldn’t be certain in baseball’s cutthroat environment in which you’re only as good as your last season.
Although he has been mentioned for vacancies over the years, Hoyer never budged. The last time his name came up in rumors was in September 2019, when the Boston Red Sox fired President Dave Dombrowski. He seemed like a likely choice to go home to the place where it all began. But Hoyer wasn’t interested and had just bought a house on the North Side a few months earlier.
“We’re staying in the city,” he told the Tribune that June. “We have three boys now, and we bought a place that’s a slightly bigger house, but that is on a bigger lot, to give them room. I didn’t want (anyone) to think we’re leaving. We’re happy here and hope to be here for a long time.”
Although terms of Hoyer’s deal have not been announced, he figures to be here for at least five years, the length of Epstein’s two deals as president. That would give Hoyer until 2025 to win a World Series on his own, starting with the upcoming remake of the roster for the 2021 season.
“Most of you in the baseball world know, every single GM opening in baseball, I think Jed has had a chance at,” Chairman Tom Ricketts said Tuesday. “He’s had lots of calls, lots of offers over the years. But he’s always been loyal to the Cubs and stayed with us and helped us continue to win. So while we’re losing one of the best leaders in all of baseball, I feel like we’re also gaining one of the best leaders in all of baseball. It’s a bittersweet day.”
Hoyer is expected to meet with the media Monday, and we’ll get his thoughts on the next general manager. Whether he stays inside the organization or finds a young executive from elsewhere, Hoyer will be the one making the big decisions, as Epstein did the last nine years.
It’s his show, no matter who is named GM.
2. Theo Epstein’s most important move was acquiring Jake Arrieta.
ESPN reporter Jesse Rogers listed his top five moves of Epstein’s Cubs career, including the acquisition of Anthony Rizzo from the San Diego Padres in 2011 at No. 1.
Although the trade for Rizzo certainly was important in kicking off the rebuild, the obvious answer was the 2013 trade of Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger to the Baltimore Orioles for Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop.
The 30-year-old Feldman was part of the Cubs sign-and-flip strategy in which Epstein would sign a relatively obscure player at a modest salary and hope he would have a decent enough half-season so he could be dealt for prospects.
One of the first sign-and-flips was Paul Maholm, who went to the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline in 2012 along with Reed Johnson for pitchers Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman.
Vizcaino, the key to the deal, had undergone season-ending Tommy John surgery in April, so many fans scoffed at Epstein’s move. But the Cubs felt his upside was so high he would be part of the bullpen for years to come beginning in 2013.
That didn’t happen. Vizcaino was healthy enough to pitch only five innings for the Cubs in 2014. But Epstein then dealt him back to the Braves after the 2014 season for Tommy La Stella, a valuable bench player and left-handed bat on contending teams from 2015-19.
Vizcaino had a brief but successful career in Atlanta, posting a 2.77 in five seasons from 2015-19. Epstein was right about his upside, though it never materialized in Chicago.
One year later, the Feldman deal led to some unexpected dissension in the Cubs clubhouse when Jeff Samardzija, clearly tired of losing, criticized the move. Feldman was 7-6 with a 3.46 ERA in 15 starts for a bad Cubs team.
“I don’t think this team improves by trading Scott Feldman,” Samardzija said. “He was one of our better pitchers. He’s thrown a lot of innings, a solid dude, a solid guy in the clubhouse. It’s a shame to see him go, and the same with Clevenger. A great dude to have around, a great teammate who played the game hard and played the right way. It’s unfortunate. Just hope the guys they get in return are comparable and bring the same attitude to the field every day that those guys brought.”
Samardzija never was so happy to be wrong. Arrieta, who had a 7.23 ERA with the Orioles at the time, was sent to Triple-A Iowa to delay his free agency by one year. He wound up going 68-31 with a 2.73 in five seasons with the Cubs, including his NL Cy Young-winning season in 2015, one of the best by any starter in major-league history. Arrieta’s swagger and arrogance rubbed off on his teammates, and the Cubs were unstoppable in 2016.
beat the Indians 8-7 in Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 2, 2016, in Cleveland.
He didn’t have much success with the Philadelphia Phillies after leaving the Cubs for a three-year, $75 million deal, but Arrieta’s importance in the Epstein era never can be understated. Strop’s success only made the deal that much sweeter.
3. The greatest tribute to the Theo Epstein-Jed Hoyer relationship.
Speaking of Reed Johnson, one of the great early moments of the rebuild came in 2012, when manager Dale Sveum decided to have a superheroes-themed road trip.
Although most players dressed up like comic book superheroes, Johnson and Jeff Baker donned khakis and polo shirts and walked around the clubhouse with cellphones glued to their ears, imitating Epstein and Hoyer.
“We obviously respect them a lot,” Baker said to the writers as they posed for pictures.
Johnson then turned to Baker and said: “Dude, we are so traded.”
Epstein and Hoyer both gave a thumbs-up to the costumes, though Johnson and Baker both were dealt within a few weeks of their big day.
4. What if everyone got to take a year off?
Everyone deserves a midcareer break, a chance to relax, revitalize and hit the refresh button on life. Few of us have that option, however, because of financial concerns, family situations or other reasons.
Epstein’s career pause comes at age 46, a perfect time in life to reflect on where you’re at and where you want to finish. He’s already a certain Hall of Famer with three rings total in Boston and Chicago, so there can be few regrets outside of some bad signings or trades. With a year off, he has plenty of time to ponder his next phase while enjoying life in one of the best places in the world to spend a summer.
Epstein’s career timeout made me think of how different things might have been had I called a career TO at age 46. I would’ve missed covering the Cubs’ 2004 season, the one during which they constantly fought with umpires, broadcasters, beat writers and, well, basically the world.
The ’04 Cubs fell off a cliff in the final week and blew a wild-card spot, ending one of the most contentious seasons in memory with the Sammy Sosa walkout and Steve Stone’s resignation. It took years off my life that I’ll never get back.
But looking back, it still was one of the most unforgettable years in Cubs history and reminded fans that not all losers are lovable.
What will Theo Epstein miss in 2021? We can hardly wait to find out.
