Lame-duck Theo plans to finish player contracts before focusing on his own

As Cubs Convention opened at the Sheraton Grand Chicago on Friday, team president said it’s “status quo” on his lame-duck status as the team’s top baseball executive.

He and chairman Tom Ricketts both say they’ve had at least general discussions about a contract extension for Epstein, whose five-year, $18.5 million deal expires after this season.

“We just haven’t gotten around to hammering out an actual contract,” said Epstein, whose market value spiked in the past year with the Andrew Friedman’s five-year, $35-million deal to become the Dodgers’ team president and the Cubs’ sudden turnaround into a 97-win playoff team.

“I see myself as staying in the exact same role for a long time, and I think Tom sees it the same way. At some point we’ll get around to doing a contract extension.”

Hoyer also is under contract through this year.

“I imagine that once my deal’s done, Jed’s will follow in short order,” said Epstein, who added he wants to get player contracts done before thinking about execs’ deals.

Ricketts said earlier this week that, “it’s just a matter of time.”