AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

The Rundown: Red Sox Exec Raquel Ferreira as Cubs GM Candidate, Hoyer Expects Active Winter, Dodgers Eliminate Cardinals, ALDS Starts Tonight

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 7, 2021

If there was a qualified female GM candidate interested in running the Cubs, do you think Jed Hoyer would be interested? Chicago’s front office had kind of a frat house mentality at times under Theo Epstein, but Hoyer said diversification was near the top of his list when choosing the right executive after taking over. With that in mind, Red Sox assistant vice-president/assistant general manager Raquel Ferreira appears to be an interesting candidate.

Ferreira has spent her entire career in the Boston organization, so she’s previously worked with Hoyer and Epstein. Were she to be hired, she’d get the obligatory queries about perseverance, baseball background, and the challenges facing a woman in a job that has historically gone to men. Right now, Kim Ng of the Marlins is the game’s only female GM and she joined Miami a year ago while that team was at the beginning stages of its rebuild, similar to where the Cubs are today. Before Ng got the gig with Miami, Ferreira was the highest-ranked female executive in baseball.

Per her Red Sox bio, Ferreira seems more than qualified to lead the Cubs:

“Over her career with the Red Sox, Ferreriar’s work has been focused on overseeing the baseball operations budgets and the club’s major and minor league operations, as well as the daily operations for the team’s major league clubhouse and travel. In addition, she heads the club’s player immigration program and was instrumental in establishing the Boston Red Sox Rookie Development program, which began in 2004. In her prior roles, Ferreira also oversaw the daily operations for the organization’s six minor league affiliates, handling issues for all minor league players and staff such as contract tenders, player transactions, payroll, and insurance.”

Ferreira is a 1992 graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a B.A. in Communications and she was instrumental in the successful career of Anthony Rizzo. Back in the day, Rizzo was a Red Sox prospect who often interacted with Ferreira.

“She was like a mom to me when I first got drafted,” Rizzo said.

Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Dustin Pedroia have previously praised the Red Sox executive.  Epstein had the highest esteem for Ferreira during his time with Boston, too.

“Theo did not look at me — and it continued with Ben [Cherington] — he did not look at me as a female in baseball,” Ferreira said in 2017.” He looked at me as a coworker and believed in my abilities. He said, ‘Whatever you want to do, let me know.’’’

That’s quite an impressive résumé and history, though it might be tough to pry her away from the Red Sox after 22 years. Then again, getting the chance to run an organization and already having familiarity with the president of baseball operations might make it an easier decision. And it’s not like Chicago hasn’t had success after poaching an executive from Boston.

Critics often argue that women don’t play professional baseball so they shouldn’t be qualified to run a team, but how many male GMs have played in the minors or at the major league level? Hoyer and Epstein haven’t. Neither has Jason McLeod. That argument is therefore a moot point and reeks of sexism and ignorance. Make no mistake, Ferreira is qualified.

If there is one caveat to Ferreira’s storied career, it’s that she may be lacking in talent evaluation, something of which she is acutely aware. That said, Chicago’s front office is loaded with executives who are generally considered among the best in the business at scouting players, like Dan Kantrovitz, Craig Breslow, and Matt Dorey. Bringing someone in who excels at all of the other aspects of the job might just create the perfect front office synergy.

“I want to be known as a great executive in baseball,’’ Ferreira said a few years ago, “without the word ‘female’ in front of it.’’

Cubs News & Notes

From  the Front Office

“We’re going to be active [in free agency],” Hoyer said yesterday. “We have a lot of holes to fill on this roster. We have a lot of areas we need to improve, so I think we’ll certainly be active. But I think we need to be active in a way that we feel we’re getting the right value for the dollars we’re spending and we’re also making sure that we’re not hindering ourselves going forward with expenditures for right now.”

Odds & Sods

This is what happens in the Bronx when you go 12 seasons without winning the World Series.

Postseason News & Notes

The Dodgers eliminated the Cardinals last night in walk-off fashion.

One hanging slider by St. Louis closer Alex Reyes sent the Redbirds home for the winter.

Max Scherzer conducted his post-game interview bare-chested.

Phil Nevin pushed back on criticism for sending Aaron Judge home on a double by Giancarlo Stanton the other night. Judge was out thanks to a perfect relay from Xander Bogaerts.

Yankees fans are demanding immediate changes in the wake of Tuesday night’s loss.

The White Sox will be hosting their first playoff game in 13 years after two games against the Astros in Houston, and fans should expect a number of changes.

The White Sox will have to reverse their road struggles to steal home-field advantage from the Astros if they expect to win the series.

Both ALDS series begin today. Houston hosts Chicago at 3:07pm CT and the Rays host the Red Sox at 7:07pm CT. Both games will be played in stadiums named after orange juice producers.

The Rays are preparing for near-capacity crowds for their games against the Red Sox.

Last Night’s MVPs

  1. Chris Taylor – His walk-off two-run homer eliminated the Cardinals in last night’s Wild Card tilt.
  2. Tommy Edman – The Cardinals’ second-sacker was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases and scored the lone St. Louis run.
  3. Kenley Janson – The Los Angeles closer struck out three of the four batters he faced in the 9th inning and looked dominant in doing so.

How About That!

Matt Vasgersian is leaving ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, per a report by Andrew Marchand of the NY Post.

Juan Soto showed up at Dodger Stadium last night wearing the jersey of ex-teammate Trea Turner.

The Padres are expected to pursue free-agent starter Marcus Stroman this winter.

Dave Dombrowski believes the Phillies can be World Series contenders if they add the right pieces to the team’s core of Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins, Aaron Nola, and Zach Wheeler.

Astros shortstop Carlos Correa seems resigned to playing elsewhere next season.

Extra Innings

God bless Harry Caray.

They Said It

  • “There’s no question that we have to acquire more pitching, better pitching. I think that’ll be the No. 1 priority, because that, said simply, was the downfall of this season.” – Hoyer

Thursday Walk-Up Song

Living on a Thin Line by The Kinks – One pitch. Season over. Sorry, not sorry.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 7, 2021
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