President of baseball operations Theo Epstein is entering the final season of his five-year contract with the Chicago Cubs. While previous rumors touched upon him signing a contract extension as early as this offseason, it appears as if he may have to wait.
The two sides "don't appear to be close to a new deal," writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Owner Tom Ricketts said on Wednesday night at Joe Maddon's "Thankmas" event that he and Epstein are "on the same page," but also noted there would be no announcement regarding an extension at this weekend's Cubs Convention, adds ESPN's Jesse Rogers.
Wittenmyer said not to expect an extension for Epstein to be on this year's agenda even though Ricketts said he and Epstein "talk all the time and [the subject] comes up."
Epstein, 42, signed a five-year, $18.5 million contract before the 2012 season, but he's in line for a much bigger raise in his next deal. The former general manager of the Boston Red Sox has built the Cubs into a World Series contender after the team hadn't made the postseason since the 2008 season. The club finished with the third-best record (97-65) in the MLB in 2015, behind only the St. Louis Cardinals (100-62) and Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64) - both of whom the Cubs defeated in the playoffs.
Additionally, FanGraphs projected the Cubs to have the best record in the MLB for the 2016 season.
Many have speculated Epstein could land a deal in the same ballpark as Andrew Friedman's five-year, $35 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Friedman is currently the highest-paid executive in the MLB and it's possible Epstein uses that deal as his base when negotiating with Ricketts.
Chicago made a splash earlier this offseason when they signed John Lackey, Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward in free agency. Those three expenditures totaled $272 million and added a significant veteran presence to their young roster.
Epstein is the next superstar up for a big contract, but that may not come until after the season.
