Getty Fenway Sports Group part-owner and senior advisor Theo Epstein.
Rob Manfred plans to retire as MLB Commissioner once his term expires in 2029.
With five years remaining on Manfred’s contract, MLB is not in a hurry to find a successor. However, oddsmakers are already trying to determine who will be the next commissioner.
SportsBetting.ag has made Theo Epstein the favorite at +400. He was the architect of curse-busting World Series-winning teams with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.
Epstein recently joined the Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Red Sox, NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Liverpool FC of the English Premier League, as a part-owner and senior advisor.
The next four choices on SportsBetting.ag’s board all currently work for MLB’s central office – deputy of baseball administration and chief legal counsel Dan Halem (+500), chief operations and strategy officer Chris Marinak (+500), deputy commissioner of business and media Noah Garden (+600) and executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword (+700).
Epstein Would be a Popular Choice
Epstein would be a popular choice for commissioner in baseball circles because of his acumen for the sport and his outgoing personality. Few figures in the game are as respected.
What also makes Epstein an attractive candidate is that he has worked on almost all levels of the business.
He began his career as a public relations assistant with the Baltimore Orioles then moved to the San Diego Padres and eventually became their director of baseball operations. Epstein was then hired by his hometown Boston Red Sox and served as general manager from 2003-11.
Epstein’s biggest highlight with the Red Sox was winning the World Series in 2004 for their first title since 1918. Boston won it all again in 2007,
Looking for a new challenge, Epstein became president of baseball operations with the Chicago Cubs before the 2012 season. Four years later, the Cubs won the World Series in 2016 for their first championship since 1908, ending a 108-year drought.
Epstein left the Cubs in 2020 and then spent three years as an on-field advisor to Manfred. With much input from Epstein, MLB instituted a series of rule changes last season that cut the average time of game by 24 minutes from 3:06 to 2:42.
Internal Candidates are Plentiful
While Halem and Marinak are co-second picks by the oddsmakers. Many within the industry believe the job will be Halem’s if he wants it.
Halem is in the same role that Manfred served in before succeeding Bud Selig as commissioner in 2015. Halem’s chief duties are serving as MLB’s lead negotiator with the Major League Baseball Players Association, and he was also instrumental in reducing the number of minor-league teams from 162 to 120 prior to the 2021 season.
Marinak has drawn high marks from MLB owners for growing MLB’s digital reach with the growth of MLB.com, the MLB and Ballpark apps, MLB.TV and Statcast. With the future of local television rights continuing to lean toward streaming, Marinak might be a prime candidate to replace Manfred because of his digital media prowess.
Garden oversees the business side of MLB’s operation, and his biggest challenge is guiding the sport through the local TV rights upheaval. How Garden navigates a complex situation over the next five years will determine his viability of a potential commissioner candidacy.
The 38-year-old Sword is considered a rising star in MLB’s central office. He has held seven different positions in 15 years and his biggest selling point in 2029 might be bringing a more youthful approach to running the sport that is often perceived as staid and out of touch with the fans.