Cubs and Red Sox Finally Agree on Epstein Swap

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Feb 22, 2012 3:30PM

Remember the little issue of compensation the Red Sox demanded from the Cubs in return for hiring Theo Epstein as their new president of baseball operations? It initially held up the Cubs' announcement of Epstein's hiring last October.

After weeks of negotiations, the Red Sox finally released their GM from his contract for, effectively, "a player to be named later." And the teams continued to have issues agreeing on just who the Cubs should to send to Boston in return.

The two clubs have finally reached a deal on the swap, with the Cubs sending pitcher Chris Carpenter to the Red Sox. While Carpenter is the main piece of compensation, the Cubs will still send two additional low level prospects to the Red Sox, as well.

Carpenter—not to be confused with the Cardinals' All-Star of the same name—has only ten major league games under his belt. The 26-year-old reliever compiled a 2.79 ERA is his short stint with the Cubs last season. In four years in the minors, he had a 21-19 record with a 3.62 ERA. Already at Cubs training camp in Mesa, Carpenter will now have to travel to Ft. Myers to join the Red Sox camp.

In reaching this agreement, the clubs avoided having Commissioner Bud Selig step in and decide the compensation himself. In a statement, the commish yesterday said, "Though the matter required time, both clubs demonstrated professionalism throughout their discussions, and I appreciate their persistence in finding common ground."