Hey, it worked with one curse. Why not this one?
The team Theo Epstein is apparently assembling for when he (finally) arrives in Chicago has a very familiar look to it. Josh Byrnes -- a member of the Red Sox' Baseball Operations unit in 2004, when the Sox won their first World Series title in 86 years -- is rumored to be on Epstein's radar as his top assistant. (Byrnes left Boston to become GM in Arizona, a job he held until last year.) But on Tuesday, an even more surprising ex-Boston name emerged.
Jed Hoyer, who took over as Padres' GM in 2010 after eight years with Epstein and the Red Sox, is, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com, under consideration to become Cubs' GM with Epstein serving as a team president. Byrnes -- hired by Hoyer in San Diego as VP of baseball operations after being fired by the Diamondbacks -- would then become Padres' GM.
According to Heyman:
A move by Hoyer, 37, would be seen as fairly shocking since he's already a GM, but perhaps the Cubs could give him the same title, while making Epstein a president. Nothing is known to be finalized yet, and it could still be Byrnes going to Chicago, but the possibility that it could be Hoyer instead was raised by several people familiar with the talks.