Theo Epstein: How Much Should Cubs Give Red Sox to Acquire Stud GM?

With the Chicago Cubs and Theo Epstein agreeing on a five-year contract worth around $20 million for him to leave the Red Sox to become their next general manager, the only remaining obstacle to making the deal official is the compensation that Boston receives to let him out of his contract. 

We just saw the Florida Marlins give the Chicago White Sox two prospects who have a chance to contribute in the majors to bring Ozzie Guillen to South Beach. 

While the Cubs are not likely to give up any meaningful prospects, certainly not any that will make it to the big leagues, they do have to give up something for the Red Sox to allow Epstein to go. According to HardballTalk.com, the two teams will start talks on Thursday in hopes of getting a deal done as soon as possible. The deal is expected to be for "non-prospecty minor leaguers or cash." The report says that the team would prefer the cash. 

This brings us to the question of what should the Cubs give the Red Sox? Better yet, what should the Red Sox demand in order to let Epstein out of his contract?

It won't happen, but for fun, they could demand that the Cubs take on John Lackey and/or Carl Crawford. Lackey just needs to get out of the American League East; he should probably get out of baseball until his personal life is in order. 

Crawford had a terrible season after signing a big contract, but he is young enough and was a good player in 2010. He would be a significant upgrade over Alfonso Soriano because he is a much better defensive player. He might not give you much on offense, but neither does Soriano. 

In all seriousness, the Red Sox should not be getting anything for Epstein. They gave him the right to talk to the Cubs, which shows that they were willing to let him go. This compensation is ridiculous, but I guess they have to show the fans that they are not just letting him walk away for nothing.