Despite rumors that the Chicago Cubs are heavily interested in Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo to be their next manager, the team has not asked permission to interview him.
Cubs manager search: Red Sox coach interview blocked by agreement
The two sides came to an agreement that they would not hire each others employees following the Cubs hiring of Theo Epstein in 2011.
Leon Halip
The reason for that appears to be an agreement made between the two sides when Chicago hired Theo Epstein away from Boston in 2011, reports Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
When the Cubs hired Epstein to be their new President of Baseball Operations, the two sides made a pact that they would not hire away each other’s employees for a certain length of time, believed to be three years. If that number is correct, the accord remains in place until October 2014.
Though it is usually an unwritten rule that a team will allow their coaches to interview for a promotion elsewhere, the Red Sox and Cubs appear to be taking their agreement seriously. It’s possible the Red Sox could still permit Lovullo to interview, but would require something from the Cubs in return in they choose to hire him.
Epstein had previously said that he hoped to have a manager in place before the Nov. 11 general manager meetings. That is looking more and more unrealistic with less than a week now remaining. Other top candidates are rumored to be Padres bench coach Rick Renteria and former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch.
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