Tom Ricketts: Theo Epstein's Contract Extension Coming 'Pretty Soon'
(CBS) With the 2016 roster maneuvering done for the time being and the regular season now underway, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein will soon get to his next order of business.
Signing a contract extension to remain in Chicago and oversee a promising young team that's primed for championship contention.
"We've talked about it," Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said Monday evening. "We'll get to a conclusion here pretty soon.
"I don't feel a lot of super time pressure."
Epstein's in the final season of a five-year, $18.5-million deal that he signed in October 2011, but Ricketts has never expressed concern about getting an extension done, with everyone wanting to focus on free agency this past offseason. Epstein's annual compensation will take a huge leap, likely in the ballpark of or more than the $8 million or so (plus incentives) that Dodgers baseball czar Andrew Friedman gets paid.
The Cubs were coming off a 71-win season and had a weak minor league system when Epstein took over. Since then, he's turned them into a 97-win team that advanced to the NLCS in 2015 and which is now favored to win the 2016 World Series.