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Cubs' Carpenter to Red Sox as compensation
Clubs will swap players to be named to finish Epstein deal
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com | 02/21/12 12:04 PM EST
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MESA, Ariz. -- How much is Theo Epstein worth? Apparently, Chris Carpenter.

"I guess my name will go down in history," Carpenter said.

On Tuesday, the Cubs announced they will send the right-handed prospect and a player to be named to the Red Sox as compensation for Epstein, hired in late October as the president of baseball operations. The Cubs will receive a player to be named, and those transactions were expected to be finalized by April 15.



Path to The Show: Carpenter
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Pitcher [Chris Carpenter]e|/mlb/players/8970  talks about being called up to the Cubs, and his excitement to join the team at Wrigley Field
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Epstein had one year remaining on his contract with the Red Sox at the time. The two teams had tried to resolve the matter themselves, but in mid-January, the decision was turned over to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. By that time, Epstein had revamped the Cubs front office, bought a home in Chicago, and traded Carlos Zambrano, among other things.

But Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said Selig did not intervene in the matter. His office did receive briefs from both teams but the Cubs and Red Sox resolved it themselves.

"The reason the Commissioner was potentially involved at any point was because there is such a lack of precedent," Hoyer said. "It's such an unusual move. I think both sides are very happy that he didn't have to decide the matter and the two teams decided the matter themselves."

When Andy MacPhail left the Twins to join the Cubs front office, Chicago sent Class A pitcher Hector Trinidad to Minnesota as compensation. Trinidad never made it to the big leagues.

Hoyer said Carpenter's name had been part of the discussions from the start.

"It wasn't a guy we were hoping to give up," Hoyer said. "We knew there would be compensation and both sides deemed that fair."

The news didn't exactly surprise Carpenter, who said the Cubs' prospects joked about it in October in the Arizona Fall League.

"It's something you could kill yourself thinking about all the time, so you just don't even think about it and you just go along and if it's you, it's you," he said.

Carpenter, 26, last year combined to make 42 relief appearances between Double-A Tennessee, Triple-A Iowa and the Cubs, his first Major League action. The right-hander spent most of his time with Iowa, going 2-3 with one save and a 6.53 ERA in 22 relief outings. Carpenter posted no record and a 2.79 ERA in 10 relief outings in the Majors and went 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA in 10 relief appearances with Tennessee last year.

Selected by the Cubs in the third round of the 2008 Draft, Carpenter is 21-19 with a 3.62 ERA in 96 outings (60 starts) in four Minor League seasons.

"As soon as they called me into the coaches office, I kind of had a feeling about what was going on," Carpenter said Tuesday. "I can't say anything bad -- I appreciate everything the Cubs have done for me. It's been a great organization over the past four years. I'm looking to going to Boston and helping them win now."

"Chris is a very good reliever and a difficult guy to lose," Hoyer said Tuesday. "I think we all realized we would lose something of significant value when Theo came over here. I hope Chris has a lot of success over there. Obviously, the Cubs are excited about the new management team with Theo leading it. There was a price to be paid for that and that price is Chris and we all felt that was fair. He is talented and we wish him luck."

Carpenter said Hoyer met with him in the general manager's office to explain the situation and that Epstein left him a message.

"In the short time I've known those guys, they're great guys and I appreciate everything they've done for me," Carpenter said.

Epstein was not in Arizona but issued a statement.

"I am relieved that this process is over and particularly pleased that the teams were able to reach agreement on their own without intervention from MLB," Epstein said. "I truly hope and believe that this resolution will benefit both clubs, as well as Chris, who is an extremely talented reliever joining a great organization at a time when there's some opportunity in the Major League bullpen."

Said Carpenter: "If you're going to pick two teams to play for, why not be the Cubs and the Red Sox? You can't complain about that."

His phone was buzzing with incoming messages as he talked to the media.

"It was kind of surreal, like a little shock," Carpenter said of his first reaction. "They talked me through it. Our coaching staff, they've been traded before and they told me things to expect and just be positive. That's where I'm at right now."

Shortly after the compensation was announced, Selig issued the following statement:

"I am pleased that the Cubs and the Red Sox have resolved this matter," Selig said. "It has always been my preference that Clubs resolve matters like this amongst themselves, as they understand their unique circumstances better than anyone else could. Though the matter required time, both Clubs demonstrated professionalism throughout their discussions, and I appreciate their persistence in finding common ground."

Still to be resolved is compensation to the Padres for Hoyer, who said he expected a decision soon.

Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings, and you can follow her on Twitter@CarrieMuskat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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cubsfan53 1 week ago
Personally, I don't like having to give up Carpenter at all.  It was still too much to give up.  Why do we have to be a precedent setter?  Has anyone ever had to give up a Triple A/Major League level player for an executive.  No, I don't think so.  He may not have still been a top 10 prospect in our organization, but he was still in the top 15, and he had to be a top 10 prospect pitcher in our organization.  Don't like it at all, how about Carnidad (or whatever his name is), Berg, or Mateo, not Carpenter.  Bad move!!

 	
short ctr. 2 weeks ago
Was losing Carpenter himself too much?  Chris Carpenter high 90's heater poor control through four years in the minors with history of injuries.  No!

 	
diggy3 2 weeks ago
Does anyone agree that when castro and barney batted consectuatively last year that great things happened.
I thought in the first half especially,considering barney struggled the second half.Does anyone agree that if barney breaks camp as starter that castro barney go back to back at the top

 	
HowManyMoreYears 2 weeks agoin reply to diggy3
Barney hit .280 in the 2 hole last yr.  It would be ideal if some of the guys that are expected to produce could hit their expectations then there would be the flexibility of batting Barney 8th where he hit .293 & had .330 obp.  Now all of those #s can be improved upon for a guy like him... But he has good speed & bunts fairly well.   He had 7 sacrifices & 1 hit in 11 PAs when attempting bunts. 6 of those sac bunts came out of the 2 hole... I'm not ready to give up on the 26 yr. old sophomore 2Bman just yet like a lot of others on here do... I like giving the young home grown talent a shot over some journeyman .250-.240 hitter that they'd be bringing in anyway...

 	
BleedinCubbyBlue 2 weeks agoin reply to diggy3
barney's struggles began in mid May and he hit just .246 in June with one walk, No extra base hits and 1 RBI.  I think he'll likey be in a platoon with cardenas.  IMO, Torreyes or DeVoss can't get here fast enough

 	
HowManyMoreYears 2 weeks agoin reply to BleedinCubbyBlue
Barney walked on June 10, He was hit by pitches on June 6 & June 9.

Does he need to improve?  Of course.  Does he need to bat 2nd?  Hopefully not.  But that was his rookie yr. & playing out of position to boot.  He hit .276 for the yr. & that was better than Stewart,, DeJesus, Soto, Soriano, Fukudome, Colvin, Pena & tied with Byrd... All players who started at 1 point or another for the Cubs last yr. &/or are starting for the Cubs this yr....  That was also better than his backups Baker & DeWitt... Fukudome, Colvin & Pena are gone... The replacements for those others still here can't get here soon enough more so than for the 2Bman...  Those other positions are where production should be expected.  Also, Barney hit .297 & had an obp of .341 with RISP... 

My point is that he's our least worry at this point vs. these other positions...

 	
PhxCubFan 2 weeks agoin reply to diggy3
No way Barney should be anywhere near the top of the order with his horrible second half .238/.286/.328 line. He needs to bat 8th until he gets his OBP above .340 and walks more than 22 times. 

By the way, batting 8th was Barneys best spot last year with a decent .293/.330/.457 line.

 	
diggy3 2 weeks ago
I really would like the organazation to figure out what Josh vitters brings to this team.Assuming that Stewart keeps his strike out pace going,I think they should either give vitters a shot or trade him.I realize he isnt ready for the show quite yet especially below avg fielding,but does anyone else agree its time to decide on him soon

 	
tenncub 2 weeks agoin reply to diggy3
No.  He's still just 22 years old. It's not at all unusual for a guy to take 5-7 years to develop when they sign right out of HS.  If he needs another year or 2, give it to him.  At 22, LaHair wasn't ready yet either.

 	
HowManyMoreYears 1 week agoin reply to tenncub
 I agree, he's way to young just to say it's now or bye bye...  That said, I'd like to see some more progress this yr. & hopefully be ready some call ups as early as next yr. to get him a taste of the majors & see what he's got...

They are going to have to determine what they're gonna do with Stewart after the season, he's arb eligible so they have him under control, but whether he'll be the everyday man again, a platoon or move on w/out him... Vitters could make that decision easier on mgmt. if he progresses into the guy they thought he'd be at draft time.

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