McLeod to meet with Twins as Cubs brace for front office losses

ST. LOUIS – After five seasons together as a front office, rebuilding the Cubs on the field, general manager Jed Hoyer thinks this will be the year he’ll have to rebuild some of the front office.

The Minnesota Twins, who are restructuring their front office after firing longtime GM Terry Ryan, have sought permission to interview Jason McLeod, the Cubs’ top scouting and player development executive, for the Twins’ top baseball job, Hoyer said.

“There could be more,” Hoyer said, adding there’s a “good chance” the Cubs lose McLeod or another high-ranking club official to teams raiding the front office of the team with the best record in the majors. “We have people that really should be desirable. I think it’s a strong possibility. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Assistant GM Shiraz Rehman also has been linked to the Twins opening.

Hoyer worked with McLeod under Theo Epstein in Boston and then took him to San Diego when he landed the Padres GM job in 2010.

“There’s probably not a better scouting and player development guy out there,” Hoyer said. “And he has all the skills to do every other part of the job. He’s just got a great way about him as a person. He manages people really easily. He’ll be really good at it once he gets [a GM] job.”

Hoyer said he anticipates bench coach Dave Martinez also will start to get even more attention than past years as manager jobs open up after the season.

As for his own lame-duck status as GM, Hoyer said he anticipates extending his tenure with the club even though Epstein and ownership have not yet worked out an extension that both sides continue to say is imminent.

“I know I’m a lame-duck GM, but we’re both pretty happy, so I think we’ll be here,” Hoyer said.