The Boston Red Sox should reunite with former GM Theo Epstein.
Let the rumors continue. As of November 20, 2020, Theo Epstein is no longer employed within MLB, as he made the decision to step down as the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs. With his ties to Red Sox, people on social media started the rumors that he could come back to Boston.
With all the success that Theo has had going from general manager to President of Baseball Operations, what position would he come back for though? The Red Sox already have a Chief Baseball Officer, Chaim Bloom. They already have a general manager in Brian O’Halloran.
This got me thinking a little bit. Theo is going to want to do something different. What could be more different than being part owner? If you think about it, it does make sense.
Earlier this year, there was an announcement that Billy Beane’s RedBall Acquisition and Fenway Sports Group were looking to possibly merge, per Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington. If this were to happen, we can speculate on what role he would take, but all signs are pointing to Beane leaving baseball behind.
“What does this merger have to do with Theo?” you might ask. If this merger was to happen, Henry will finally get the guy he’s been trying to get since purchasing the team in 2002. With the speculation that Beane would be leaving baseball, one would think that both Henry and Beane would look at doing more with the Football Clubs across the sea.
If that were to happen, there would be an opportunity for FSG to bring in Epstein. He’s already been a general manager and the President of Baseball Operations, so the next goal would be ownership, right? This got me thinking into the fact that there is a possible chance that Henry and company could in fact bring back Theo.
Hypothetically, if Henry and Beane do end up focusing more on the Football Clubs, they would probably need to add one more person to the ownership group to help Werner and Kennedy. Epstein would be that perfect fit. He already knows the ownership and he’s been in another organization to where he can bring the idea over. It’s a far-fetched idea, but it could happen. Theo working back in Boston would be a spark of nostalgia that the fans so desire.
Just imagine having an ownership with both Beane (Mr. Moneyball) and Epstein plus a front office led by Bloom. Imagine what type of team the Red Sox would end up putting together in the future.
The other rumor out there about Epstein is that he could possibly be looking at the Commissioner position. According to Bill Shaikin, there are odds that Theo could possibly be the commissioner by December 31, 2021.
Rob Manfred has a contract through 2024. BetOnline is offering 5/1 odds that Theo Epstein will be hired as MLB commissioner by Dec. 31, 2021.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) November 20, 2020
If you think about it, this would make sense. Manfred has received a lot of heat from the way he treated the Astros scandal earlier this year and the different rules that he’s trying to implement to make the game faster. The biggest reason for his heat is the fact that he called the commissioner trophy a piece of metal. Manfred definitely hasn’t been making friends in the baseball community and it could come back to bite him.