One of the main, if not the biggest concern for Red Sox fans over the past few months hasn't revolved around a free agent or a trade target, it's been all about an executive. On Wednesday, we found out that the Theo Epstein compensation issue may be coming to a close sooner rather than later.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs have asked major league baseball and commissioner Bud Selig to resolve the issue of what the Red Sox will receive from the Cubs after Theo Epstein left the organization to become Chicago's new president of baseball operations. The two teams have been battling over this issue since October of last year, when Epstein took his talents to Chicago.
Throughout the negotiations, the Red Sox have reportedly asked for way more than the Cubs are willing to give. The Sox have thrown out names such as hot trade commodity Matt Garza and top outfield prospect Brett Jackson as compensation. The Cubs reportedly rebuffed this notion.
Both teams seem to have fair cases as to what they believe the Red Sox should receive for Epstein. For the Cubs, they only gave up a low ranking prospect and cash considerations when they acquired executive Andy MacPhail from the Minnesota Twins. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have the argument about the recent deal between the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins. The Marlins gave up two top prospects in exchange for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen in October of last year. Either way, the commissioner's office has their work cut out for them.
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