The Chicago Cubs already had one star front office member leave the organization this offseason and it seemed like a second was going to be poached by the New York Mets. However, in what kind of seems like a surprising move, the Mets were unable to steal away Dan Kantrovitz after having discussions about hiring him for a high-level position overseeing their amateur scouting and player development departments.
MLB insider Jon Heyman reported that Kantrovitz is staying with the Cubs. Following the 2019 season, the Cubs hired Kantrovitz to be their new vice president of scouting.
Prior to his time with the Cubs, Kantrovitz worked for the St. Louis Cardinals, rising in their organization to be scouting director, before leaving to become assistant general manager with the Oakland A’s. Theo Epstein then brought him into the Cubs organization.
During his time with the Cubs, Kantrovitz has made giant strides with team’s minor league system, which is now considered one of the best farm systems in baseball.
So, definitely a win for the Cubs early in the offseason, as David Stearns, who used to run the Milwaukee Brewers, could not get Kantrovitz away from Chicago.
Back in October, the Cubs did lose Craig Breslow, who was in charge of the Cubs vice president of pitching and assistant general manager. You can’t blame Breslow, though, as he went from Director of Strategic Initiatives for Baseball Operations in 2019 to Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox in 2023. Breslow and Kantrovitz both joined the Cubs organization in 2019.
