The Chicago Cubs are enduring their best season since 2008 and the team's front office has a lot to do with it. They've cultivated the organization's young talent exquisitely and acquired the right veterans to help further their development. However, there's no guarantee the front office will remain intact.
Rumors indicate other MLB clubs are interested in the Cubs' personnel, such as VP of scouting and player development Jason McLeod and assistant GM Shiraz Rehman. McLeod linked to the general manager job for the Seattle Mariners, according to Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com and FOX Sports' Jon Morosi mentions both can be prime candidates for other GM jobs across the league.
However, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein isn't concerned about it and also doesn't think anyone will be leaving. He's likely also speaking on behalf of GM Jed Hoyer, who could potentially lose his assistant (Rehman) of three years.
"I think we have a pretty tight-knit group, and this is a great time be a Chicago Cub, whether you're in uniform of in the front office," Epstein told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. "I don't really worry about losing people. But if we do, I think we have a really deep organization, that there's another layer ready to step up. We have some depth in the front office.
"But I think that we're a great team in the front office, and I expect us to stay together for a while."
While Epstein exudes confidence about the whole situation, there's no telling what will happen. McLeod was candidate for the San Diego Padres' GM job last season, but he withdrew his name from consideration. He's been with the Cubs since Epstein and Hoyer were hired in 2011, and although he previously said he has "no interest" in the Red Sox GM opening and is enjoying his time in Chicago, it's hard to believe he's not thinking about the various openings throughout the MLB.
Also, both McLeod and Rehman are minorities, which helps put them at the forefront of the whole lack of diversity discussion regarding executives throughout the MLB.
"While in many cases it's not known which executives will interview -- or have interviewed -- for the GM openings, it's apparent that there are many qualified minority candidates," Morosi wrote earlier this month.
"Two highly regarded minority executives have been heavily involved in rebuilding the Chicago Cubs, who are poised to reach the postseason for the first time since 2008: Jason McLeod, senior vice president of player development and amateur scouting, and Shiraz Rehman, assistant general manager."
Commissioner Rob Manfred and Rays' owner Stuart Sternberg (chairman of MLB's Diversity and Inclusion Committee) are making a push to include more minorities in front offices. Manfred told the owners last month that they are required to interview at least one minority candidates if a team's search includes people outside of the organization.
The Cubs are looking ahead toward a bright future, but after this season one or two instrumental figures involved in the team's rebuilding process may be elsewhere.
