Passan: It Would Be Tough For Cubs To Lure Rays' Friedman
(WSCR) It comes as a shock to no one that 34-year-old GM phenom Andrew Friedman is at the top of everyone's list to become the Cubs' new general manager.
There's a good chance he's at the top of Tom Ricketts' list too.
But, as Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan told The McNeil and Spiegel Show Monday, it may not be easy to get the Rays' general manager to come to Chicago.
"It's going to be tough to take him away (from the Rays)," Passan said. "I know how much he loves it there. He loves Joe Maddon. He loves Matt Silverman, the president. He loves Stu Sternberg, the owner. I mean they've got a good deal going on there and there are a whole lot of kids in that organization who are going to be coming up and stacking that team even more than it is right now. So he can keep winning in a division that is difficult to win in, which says a lot about him and a lot about the organization he's helped build."
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Even if Friedman is willing to entertain other jobs, the Cubs will have to compete with the Houston Astros for his services.
"The likelihood (that Houston pursues Friedman) is 100 percent," Passan said. "The chances that he goes there though? I mean, Andrew Friedman is from Houston so it would be the prodigal son. It would be essentially Theo Epstein, only Friedman's got a couple division titles in the toughest division in baseball with a $40 million payroll under his belt already. So I think there would probably have to be a President/GM type situation there already and that's not going to be something the Cubs are willing to give. And you wonder just how much does that title sway Andrew Friedman away from Chicago toward Houston or keeping him in Tampa Bay?"
Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts has been insistent on team president Crane Kenney staying with the ballclub, which means there won't be a "president" title available to offer Friedman, who currently holds the title of Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Rays.
Still, Chicago obviously offers the stigma that Tampa or Houston will never offer.
"(It's) the type of thing where if you go in and you succeed, you will be the king of Chicago and there aren't many better cities to be king of than Chicago," Passan said.
