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Slowly but surely, the Chicago Cubs are starting to turn into the Boston Cubs – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, Theo Epstein did help that team with two World Series titles, so it’s obvious that his previous formula in Boston worked.
Just in case you missed it, former Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly is facing up to five years in jail after being charged with three counts of vehicle insurance fraud.
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Lilly was hired on as a special assistant to Epstein but it was clear that his current situation would result in him being dismissed. It’s a position that was expected to be filled sooner or later – it was just a matter of who would fill the gap and when would it happen.
According to the Chicago Tribune’s own Mark Gonzalez, the Cubs will hire former Red Sox’ Kevin Youkilis as a special assistant.
Youkilis, 35, won two World Series titles as a member of the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. He played with Boston from his debut in 2004 up until the 2012 season where he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for both Zach Stewart and Brent Lillibridge.
Boston agree’d to pay around $5.5 million of his salary to help the deal go through. Wasn’t that nice of them?
Youkilis would later find himself with the New York Yankees just a year later. His production would be his worst since the 2005 season where he only drove in nine runs and one long-ball on a .278/.400/.405 clip in 44 games.
In his final year in the majors before jumping to Japan in 2014, Youkilis only appeared in 28 games with the Bronx Bombers in 2013. A bulging disc in his back caused him to miss majority of the year.
He would finish his major league career with two home runs, eight RBIs off 23 hits and a batting line of .219/.305/.343.
The man with one of the more awkward batting stances announced his retirement from the game he loves so dearly back in late October. Youkilis was limited to just 21 games in Japan as a member of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles due to plantar fasciitis in his foot.
Now that he’s officially a front-office man, Youkilis will look to assist Epstein and Jed Hoyer in their mission to bring a championship to the North Side of Chicago.
Welcome to the family, Youk!