Red Sox GM Theo Epstein Near New Deal To Remain With Franchise
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Epstein Reportedly Close To
New Deal With Red Sox |
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein "seems to have agreed preliminarily on a deal to remain" with the team, according to Amalie Benjamin of the BOSTON GLOBE. The reported new deal comes "three years after he signed what was likely a three-year pact," though terms of the deal were never confirmed. Red Sox Owner John Henry in an e-mail said, "Negotiations are done -- have been done. But nothing has been signed. We're focused on the season and lawyers are handling the details." But Benjamin notes Henry later "backed away from early comments on the state of the contract." Henry in another e-mail said, "I got a little ahead of where we are today in commenting on what have been refreshingly private negotiations. We are not done, but we expect to have an announcement in the near future. I have asked all involved not to comment until this is finalized." Terms of the new deal were not disclosed, but Benjamin notes it "appears Epstein will remain with the Sox for some time." After Epstein's contract negotiations with the team in '05 "became a spectacle," he "vowed to no longer reveal the end date of any pact." But it is "clear his current deal is nearing its end, and that 'in the near future,' the loose ends will be tied up" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/17). ESPN's Peter Gammons said Epstein "never signed the last contract he had." Gammons: "The cooperation between the baseball operations people and ownership is really unique in baseball, and it’s hard to find a better position than being the GM for Henry, (President & CEO Larry) Lucchino and (CEO Tom) Werner” (“Baseball Tonight, ESPN, 9/16).
TAKE TWO: In Boston, Michael Silverman cites a source who indicated that the deal "would probably get done soon but without any of the drama from three years ago when Epstein left his job unexpectedly (in a gorilla suit) after becoming disenchanted with excessive meddling, media leaks and philosophical differences with key members of the franchise not involved with baseball operations" (BOSTON HERALD, 9/17). Also in Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes of the deal, "Get his name on the dotted line. ... Sox fans don't want this to stretch out in Scott Boras-like fashion. God forbid we witness Gorilla Suit II." The team is "about to clinch a playoff birth for the fifth time in Theo's six seasons at the wheel," and this season they are "doing it almost exclusively with Theo's guys" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/17).
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