Cubs, Red Sox settle Theo Epstein issueQuote
The Chicago Cubs are sending reliever Chris Carpenter to the Boston Red Sox as compensation for hiring Theo Epstein as president of baseball operations.
The Cubs and Red Sox will also exchange a player to be named each.
The sides had been unable to agree on compensation since Epstein left his general manager job with the Red Sox in October. The matter was eventually passed on to commissioner Bud Selig and both sides submitted written arguments to Selig last week. But Epstein indicated Tuesday that the sides finally agreed on their own.
"I am relieved that this process is over and particularly pleased that the teams were able to reach agreement on their own without intervention from MLB," Epstein said in a statement. "I truly hope and believe that this resolution will benefit both clubs, as well as Chris, who is an extremely talented reliever joining a great organization at a time when there's some opportunity in the major league bullpen."
"More than anything, I'm excited that we can all move forward and focus exclusively on getting ready for the season. I wish Chris and the Red Sox nothing but the best in 2012 and beyond."
To make room on the roster for Carpenter, the Red Sox place reliever Bobby Jenks on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from back surgery.
Carpenter, 26, made 42 relief appearances at Double-A, Triple-A and for the Cubs last season. The right-hander had a 2.79 ERA in 10 relief outings for the Cubs in his first major league action. He is 21-19 with a 3.62 ERA in four minor league seasons.
The Red Sox had reportedly aimed high in their initial demands, requesting Cubs ace Matt Garza and even All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro. But the Cubs shot down those options.
Sending Carpenter means that the Cubs will not lose a top prospect, such as outfielder Brett Jackson, third baseman Josh Vitters or starting pitcher Trey McNutt. Still, Carpenter had some upside as a hard-throwing middle reliever.
"Yeah, Chris is a very good reliever," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. "He's a difficult guy to lose. I think we all realized we were going to lose something of significant value when Theo came over here. This doesn't change that.
"I hope Chris has a lot of success over there. Obviously the Cubs are excited about the new management team with Theo leading it. There was a price to be paid for it and that price was Chris. I think we all thought that was fair, but he is talented and we wish him luck. Hopefully both sides do well by this agreement."
Information from ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes was used in this report.