Cubs news: Theo Epstein has a new job in baseball

Theo Epstein has a new gig in baseball thanks to Rob Manfred.

Former Cubs president and Red Sox GM, Theo Epstein, 47, is joining Major League Baseball’s Commissioner’s office as a consultant regarding on-field matters, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score.

Major League Baseball said in a statement that Epstein will work “under the supervision of the Commissioner and the Owners’ Competition Committee, Epstein will work with baseball analytics experts from the Commissioner’s Office and the Clubs to determine the likely effects of various contemplated rule changes.”

Levine reports that Epstein will assist the MLB with navigating the COVID-19 pandemic along with negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Epstein left Chicago after an unprecedented era of success for the franchise

“It is an honor to assist the efforts by Major League Baseball and the Competition Committee to improve the on-field product, and I appreciate Commissioner Manfred asking me to be a part of these important conversations,” Epstein said in a statement Thursday. “As the game evolves, we all have an interest in ensuring the changes we see on the field make the game as entertaining and action-packed as possible for the fans, while preserving all that makes baseball so special. I look forward to working with interested parties throughout the industry to help us collectively navigate toward the very best version of our game.”

In November, Epstein stepped down as Cubs president after nine seasons. Jed Hoyer, who worked under Epstein as the Cubs’ GM, will replace Epstein as president of the team.

Epstein is famous for helping end the long championship droughts of the Red Sox and Cubs. In 2002 he was hired as the Red Sox GM at 28 years old, the youngest GM in baseball history at the time. Two years later the Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, and the team won the World Series again in 2007 under Epstein.

In 2011, Epstein left the Red Sox to become president of baseball operations with the Cubs. In 2016 the Cubs won 103 games — the team’s highest win total since 1910 —  en route to a historic seven-game World Series win over the Indians, ending the Cubs’ 108-year championship drought.