NEWSLETTER
Today, the Chicago Cubs officially added former San Diego Padres executives Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod to their ever-growing stable of kick-ass front office members. Hoyer is the Cubs’ new Executive Vice President and General Manager, while McLeod is a Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development (which means Scouting Director Tim Wilken and Farm Director Oneri Fleita will report to McLeod, who reports to Hoyer, who reports to Theo Epstein). The two were former assistants of Theo Epstein’s in Boston during the Red Sox’s dominant run. The news was announced in a joint statement with the Padres.
The Padres and Cubs presumably were allowed to announce the move today because of the World Series rainout – hooray, rain. The Cubs will send compensation the Padres’ way, but, for now, it is of the “Player to Be Named Later” variety. Josh Byrnes, as expected, as promoted to the Padres’ GM position, vacated by Hoyer.
Hoyer and McLeod will be introduced in a press conference soon after the end of the World Series, but, presumably, can get to work right away.
As the front office continues to shake out, I will, at some point (as in, when we have some more clarity beyond the hierarch listed in the parenthetical in the first paragraph), discuss what each member’s role will be, because things look to be quite different than under the Jim Hendry regime. For now, its fair to assume that Epstein will be in charge of all things baseball, Hoyer will be in charge of all of the day-to-day tasks on the baseball side, and McLeod will be in charge of all things drafting and scouting.
I should add: don’t let the “expectedness” of these moves fool you. Adding Hoyer and McLeod to the front office is just a huge, huge get. Landing Epstein is the biggest move, but these kind of subsequent moves are precisely the reason getting Epstein was such a big deal in the first place. The best and brightest want to work for Theo.
An added thought: You’ve got to figure Tim Wilken, who is under contract only through 2012, may now be interested in seeking out a top scouting job (or better) in another organization. You can also assume the Cubs will gladly let him – not because they don’t value his work, but because it’s the right thing to do.
