2011-2012 MLB Off-Season Thread

[Ramp]

Angels GM Tony Reagins resigned this afternoon

[HUGG]

"We felt a change was needed" - Arte Moreno

meaning he "resigned"

[Ramp]

White Sox new manager is Robin Ventura

[Miamarlin21]

Wow

[Ramp]

Theo to the Cubs is reportedly very close

[DColts]

Why would he want to leave Boston?

[jOOj]

Break another curse, make a movie about it.

[Metes]

Not much left to achieve there

I'm sure he's thinking if he turns around another storied franchise he'll be the greatest GM of all time

[Ramp]

pretty much what those guys said

[Branch]

The talk around here has been that he wouldn't do it just to be their GM, he's had success here and it would just be a lateral move. Rumor was that the Cubs would offer him something like Team President and that's why he wants to go.

I have no idea if any of that is right, but it's what I've been hearing on talk radio.

[Mainge]

Would Terry follow him there? Are they close like that?

[Branch]

At the beginning of this season I would have said yes to that question, but since the whole season-ending collapse and subsequent "parting of ways" between Francona and the Sox, quite a few reports have surfaced detailing a surprisingly acute and rapid degradation of the relationship between Theo and Francona over the last few months of the season. At this point, I think I'd say no, he would not follow Epstein to the Cubs.

[Metes]

It would probably be Tim McCarver

[MiamiHomer]

NY Daily News is reporting it now:

Theo Epstein headed to Chicago Cubs to become general manager, leaves Boston Red Sox: sources

Theo Epstein has elected to leave his $161 million Red Sox mess behind and take on the new challenge of bringing the first world championship to Wrigley Field since 1908 as general manager of the Chicago Cubs.

The Daily News has learned from two sources that Epstein, the onetime "boy wonder" GM of the Red Sox who, in 2004, broke the "Curse of the Bambino" by bringing the Sox their first world championship since 1918 and then repeated as world champs three years later, has been engaged for two days in "serious and comprehensive" negotiations with Cubs owner Tom Ricketts.

According to one source, final contract details were in the process of being worked out Tuesday night and the only other detail, albeit an important one, was the compensation the Red Sox would receive from the Cubs.

It is believed after the Cubs - who fired their GM, Jim Hendry, at the end of the season - asked the Red Sox for permission to talk to Epstein, Boston owner John Henry made a token effort to retain his prodigy who, in 2002, he made the youngest GM in baseball history when Epstein was just 24. But in a press conference at Fenway Park last week, even Henry didn't sound like he expected Epstein to stay around after the Red Sox epic collapse this season in which they blew a nine-game lead in the wild card with a 7-20 September.

"I think there's a certain shelf life in these jobs," Henry said. "You can only be the manager, general manager for a certain amount of time, if you're sane. It's a pressure cooker here. Theo's not going to be the general manager forever."

Epstein's assistant, Ben Cherington, is slated to replace him as Red Sox GM and immediately inherits a myriad of problems with a team that has the second-largest ($161 million) payroll in baseball behind the Yankees. Combined with the historic collapse this season, Epstein saddled the Red Sox with potentially two of the worst contracts in baseball - seven years, $142 million for leftfielder Carl Crawford and $82.5 million for pitcher John Lackey through 2014.

Both Crawford and Lackey had terrible seasons in 2011.

It will now also be Cherington's call on a new manager to replace Terry Francona, who was essentially fired at the end of the season.

Apparently, the lure of ending the Cubs' 100-plus years of futility on top of what he was able to accomplish with the Red Sox, was simply too much for Epstein to resist.

As one baseball official who knows him well said Tuesday night: "Bringing the Cubs a championship is Theo's ticket to the Hall of Fame. He knows that. That's why he couldn't pass that challenge up."

The fact that the Cubs already have a scouting director (Tim Wilken) and a farm director (Oneri Fleita) in place as holdovers from Hendry's regime was never an issue for Epstein, one source said.

"Wilken's highly respected in the industry and Fleita can always be moved to another position," said the source.

It's expected that Epstein's final deal - in which the Cubs will name him President of Baseball Operations with current team president, Crane Kenney, having his title changed to President of Business Operations - will make him among the highest paid GMs in baseball if not the highest paid.

[Branch]

I was right, sort of.

Also, this sucks.