Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
Theo Epstein is going to get paid
Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes Theo Epstein’s looming extension, David Freese’s poor timing on free agency and criticism of the Pablo Sandoval fat-shamers.
Getty
* * *
When Theo Epstein became the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, he received a contract that general managers could only dream of. Epstein joined up with Chicago on a five-year, $18 million deal, but in the four years since signing it, his salary has been eclipsed -- most notably, by his former AL East rival, Andrew Friedman, who left the Rays for the Dodgers on a five-year, $35 million deal last offseason. If you’re a Cubs fan, don’t worry: owner Tom Ricketts plans to make Epstein the highest paid executive in the game on his next contract. If you’re not a Cubs fan, well, sorry. Theo probably isn’t going anywhere just yet.
Epstein has revamped the Cubs since taking over baseball ops. He pried Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod from the Padres -- both of whom worked under Epstein with the Red Sox -- to bolster the front office, then, over the years, improved the farm system with trades, signings and drafting until it bore the fruits that helped them earn entry into the 2015 National League Championship Series. Now that the kids are here, the Cubs have opened their wallets back up, too. After adding Jason Heyward, John Lackey and Ben Zobrist on top of all the inexpensive youth, the Cubs have a club-record $145 million payroll.
Whether Epstein becomes the man who brought championships back to both the Red Sox and the Cubs remains to be seen, but the latter’s chances have improved significantly since his arrival -- of course he deserves to be the highest-paid executive in the game. Luckily for the Cubs and their fans, their owner realizes as much.
Now, we just need to convince him to enter the press conference announcing his eventual extension like this.
- Yoenis Cespedes wanted round waffles on Wednesday, so he lent his $400,000 custom Lamborghini to a Mets employee, so they could buy him some. As you do.
- David Ross is the old man of the Cubs, and the rest of the team loves him. Jason Heyward is even paying for Ross to have a suite for all 81 road games this year -- usually, only stars get suites.
- It's apparently a Golden Age of third basemen, and no one is more aware of this than still-a-free-agent David Freese.
- The threat on Charles Hairston's life is a reminder that international free agency is in need of an overhaul.
- The Giants' rotation was built to eat innings, but we'll see if that goal is realized.
- Miguel Cabrera might open the season at third base, but don't worry: it's a just a temporary, schedule-based idea thanks to a short interleague series.
- The conversation about Pablo Sandoval's weight dehumanizes him: it's cheap, it's easy and it misses the point. Why do you think all the Boston radio guys are talking about it?
- The Orioles and Yovani Gallardo reworked the original deal they agreed to, and came away with a two-year contract with an option for a third.
- What would it take to get the Padres to the playoffs? You know, realistically.
See More:
