Chicago Cubs President Theo Epstein Steps Down, Hoyer Takes Over

CHICAGO — When Theo Epstein arrived in Chicago nine years ago, he did so with a vision of how long he would stay. Like the manager he eventually hired to end the Chicago Cubs' 108-year drought without a World Series championship, Epstein always believed his job running the city's North Side baseball franchise had a shelf life.

On Tuesday, a year shy of when he expected to make a similar announcement, Epstein, the architect of the Cubs' 2016 championship team, announced he is stepping down from his role as the team president. Epstein, 46, who previously oversaw the Boston Red Sox ending their run without a championship in 2004 before adding another in 2007 as the team’s general manager, will be replaced by general manager Jed Hoyer.

Epstein was expected to transition out of his role in 2021 when his contract was up, but will hand the reins of the team over to Hoyer, who will take charge of a team that is expected to look much different next season than it has in recent years when the Cubs transitioned from baseball's Lovable Losers to a team that rose to being one of the National League's perennial favorites before falling off in the four years since winning it all.

"All of the things that have made this experience so special — the fans, the players, the managers and coaches, ownership, my front office colleagues, the uniqueness of the Wrigley experience, the history — make it so tough to leave the Cubs," Epstein said in a statement released by the team on Tuesday.

“But I believe this is the right decision for me even if it’s a difficult one. And now is the right time rather than a year from now. The organization faces a number of decisions this winter that carry long-term consequences; those types of decisions are best made by someone who will be here for a long period rather than just one more year. Jed has earned this opportunity and is absolutely the right person to take over this baseball operation at such an important time.”

Ricketts, who said in a recent radio interview before Tuesday's announcement that the team would work with Epstein as he began to plan for his departure next year, agreed with Epstein in saying the timing made sense now rather than later.

"The timing is right for a number of reasons," Ricketts said in a statement released by the team. "And most importantly we are both thrilled that Jed is the person succeeding Theo. We have had our most successful period in over a century under Theo's leadership, and we are grateful for everything he has given to this organization and this city."

In a letter from Epstein to Cubs staffers that was obtained by the Chicago Tribune at other media outlets Tuesday, Epstein said that he is not sure what the future holds but that he has "a few ideas". He said he plans to work with some Chicago-area not-for-profit organizations and that if and when the time is right, he would like to join an ownership group of a Major League team. However, he said while his initial plan was to step away from the team in 2021, he said that over the summer, it became clear that he did not want to wait until then to begin the transition.

"First, the organization faces many decisions this winter that carry long-term consequences; those types of decisions are best made by someone who will be here for a long period rather than for just one more year," Epstein wrote in the letter. "Second, as we know all too well, COVID-19 has brought serious threats and impacts to our business and our people — and to every sports franchise in the country — and we must face the immediate challenge of how to allocate our temporarily reduced resources in a way that allows us to move forward and to succeed. In a way my presence in 2021 would actually make that challenge more difficult. Last, Jed Hoyer is more than ready to lead the Cubs into their next chapter. Well respected in all corners of the organization and the industry — and with experience as a Baseball Operations “number one” already on his resume — Jed offers continuity that will preserve our areas of strength. At the same time, Jed is realistic about the areas where we need to improve and is unafraid to make necessary changes, as evidenced by his role in 2019′s restructuring and re-modernization of our amateur scouting and player development departments. Jed has been a loyal and impactful right-hand man, but he is his own man, with his own eyes, his own opinions, and his own leadership style. He does not need me watching over his shoulder for another year as we finish off a transition that in many ways has been years in the making."

Epstein's nine-year tenure ends with the Cubs following a pandemic-shortened season in which David Ross guided the team to a National League Central Division title in his first year at the helm of the team after Joe Maddon left the Cubs following the 2019 season. Despite the division title, the Cubs were ousted in the first round of the postseason in a series loss to the Miami Marlins.

The announcement of Epstein's departure comes a day after reports surfaced that the Cubs were reported as sellers on baseball’s open market with reportedly all players — including star shortstop Javier Baez and former National League Most Valuable Player Kris Bryant — up for grabs. The Cubs, who won a World Series title in 2016 after Epstein saw the team through a rebuilding phase that saw the addition of key additions such as Jason Heyward, Jon Lester and others.

Maddon said last season that he never wanted to overstay his welcome, adding that he always believed that staying in one place too long wasn't good for him or the team he was working for at the time. Epstein said in a news conference Tuesday that he does not anticipate working for a team next season. But, he does expect to have a "third chapter"in baseball at some point after successful runs with the Red Sox and Cubs.

“If you look at my track record in Boston and then here, in the first six years or so, we did some pretty epic things,” Epstein said during Tuesday's news conference. “The last couple years weren’t that impressive. Maybe what that tells me is I’m great at and really enjoy building and transformation and triumphing. Maybe I’m not as good and not as motivated by maintenance, so to speak. As soon as you get to the point where it can start to feel that way to you, you owe it to yourself and as importantly if not more importantly, to your employer to be open about that and seek to pursue change that’s in the best interest of the organization and the individual.

“I’m somewhat self-aware — not in a lot of areas, but in some areas, I am. I’m self-aware enough in this area to know that, after a while, I need a new challenge.”