Jed Hoyer, What Do You Know, He Speaks

All of General Manager’s Jed Hoyer’s media appearances since taking his new position with the Chicago Cubs have been in the shadow of President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein. While Hoyer is labeled as the general manager, it is no secret that the one with the final say on all baseball decisions is Epstein. Having said that, Hoyer will not be kept on a leash with a muzzle on his mouth. The general manager will voice his opinion in baseball decisions, and given the strong respect that Epstein has for Hoyer, the two will agree on some moves and likely bump heads on other moves. In any event, having two different but similar baseball minds in one front office will likely benefit the Cubs’ organization.

Tuesday was the first day that Hoyer had the opportunity to speak with the media without Epstein at his watch. Much like Epstein, Hoyer is a pro at side-stepping questions while providing answers.

Of course, the topic on the mind of everyone is who is going to be the next manager of the Cubs. The search appears to be down to two finalist with Milwaukee Brewers’ hitting coach Dale Sveum and Texas Rangers’ pitching coach Mike Maddux appearing to be the front-runners. Though with Maddux possibly being too invested in his family, Cleveland Indians’ bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr could wind up as the next manager of the Cubs.

As was discovered on Tuesday, the Cubs and Red Sox are speaking with Sveum for a second time. The Cubs spoke with Sveum on Tuesday in what was perceived as a follow up to his first interview, and the Red Sox will talk to Sveum on Wednesday in where the Red Sox ownership will likely be present and an offer to Sveum will likely be forthcoming. Hoyer was adamant that the Cubs’ front office team are not going to conduct second interviews with any of the candidates they interviewed last week. Hoyer admitted that the Cubs have had a “number of conversations on the phone with different candidates after we went through the first interviews in our heads, asking questions.”

The Cubs front-office has not set a timeline for a when a manager could be named, though the expectation is that they will have a manager in place within the next two weeks. If Sveum winds up in Boston, that would seem to clear the way for Maddux to wind up with the Cubs. The issue with that is that Maddux is a family man, and may not accept the Cubs’ offer because of the fear of spending less time with his family. If that is the case, then Alomar will likely become the next favorite for the Cubs’ managerial position.

Hoyer wouldn’t comment on whether or not the Cubs will be bidder for either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols saying that the Cubs are not at the point “where we’ll rule out anybody in the free-agent market.” The Cubs, if they haven’t already, are expected to meet with Scott Boras before the general manager meetings conclude. While Boras does represent Fielder, he also represents Carlos Pena. After signing what was labeled as a “pillow contract” with the Cubs last season, Pena is back on the free-agent market looking for a multi-year deal. The Cubs could be interested in Fielder at a four or five year deal, but the team likely will not go as high as seven or eight years. The likelier scenario is for the Cubs to pass on Fielder and Pujols, and give Bryan LaHair the opportunity to win the first base position in Spring Training.