Key piece of 2016 Cubs front office singled out as a top exec by anonymous MLB agent

Chicago Cubs fans no doubt remember the name 'Jason McLeod'. It's been a minute since he called Wrigley Field home, but McLeod played an integral role assembling the powerful pipeline of young talent that fueled the team's rise to a World Series champion a decade ago.

McLeod spent 10 years in the Cubs' front office heading up scouting and player development before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks as a special assistant and VP of baseball operations in 2021. He's flown under the radar a bit since then, but his name apparently still carries some weight where it counts.

FanSided's Robert Murray put together an anonymous MLB agent survey, largely predicated around this winter's looming CBA showdown between team owners and the MLBPA. But toward the end, he posed the question, "Which GM and manager would agents choose to run their team?"

One of the responses paired McLeod serving as a GM with Ross Fenstermaker of the Rangers in the role of president of baseball ops. The manager of this agent's dream team? Annual thorn in the side of the Cubs and back-to-back reigning NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy.

"I believe this blend gives an organization forward-thinking leaders that have demonstrated success in this new age of identifying the best talent while still blending the ability to scout and development. You can have all the data, analytics, and information in the world, but if you don't have leaders that speak "baseball" with the ability to articulate the messaging, the desired results will not follow. There will always be a desire from the players to receive the messaging from someone who's spent a day in their shoes."

Could Jason McLeod still make the jump and lead an MLB front office?

There's no question that McLeod has the resume to warrant serious consideration for a general manager or president of baseball operations role. A few years ago, he was a speculative fit in the Detroit Tigers' front office search, but nothing ever came of it.

It appears John Mozeliak will stick around in Anaheim after that organization got its long-awaited change in ownership. We all know the Houston Astros could use some stability in that front office, but owner Jim Crane's heavy-handedness is infamous throughout the sport. Would the Pittsburgh Pirates turn the page on Ben Cherington?

We'll have to see how all that plays out, but this was a nice reminder that Jason McLeod is still very much in the game and Cubs fans (as well as the rest of the league) should make sure to remember that fact as the offseason approaches.

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