A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated
Press that Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has agreed
to a contract with the Chicago Cubs.

The person says compensation issues must be worked out before
the deal is finalized. The person spoke on the condition of
anonymity Wednesday night because there has not been an
announcement.

The 37-year-old Epstein would leave the Red Sox with a year
remaining on his contract as general manager and take over what is
expected to be an expanded role with the Cubs, who have gone 103
years without a World Series championship.

Radio station WEEI in Boston, ESPN the Magazine and SI.com
earlier cited unidentified sources in reporting that Epstein has
agreed to a five-year deal.

The Cubs declined comment Wednesday and Red Sox officials could
not be reached by The Associated Press. On Tuesday, a person
familiar with the situation told the AP that Epstein was likely to
join the Cubs within 48 hours.

With Epstein at the helm, the Red Sox ended an 86-year World
Series championship drought in 2004 and won the title again in
2007.

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts fired GM Jim Hendry in July, although
Hendry stayed on the job for another month.

When: Monday through Thursday.

Where: Progressive Field.

TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; MLB.TV on Thursday; WTAM AM/1100.

Series: Indians lead, 2-1, this season. Oakland leads, 249-217, all-time.

Pitching matchups: Indians LHP David Huff (1-2, 2.70 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon McCarthy (7-6, 3.72), Monday at 7:05; TBD vs. RHP Trevor Cahill (9-12, 4.13), Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.; RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (2-1, 5.79) vs. RHP Rich Harden (4-2, 4.55), Wednesday at 7:05; RHP Fausto Carmona (6-12, 4.85) vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez (11-11, 3.35), Thursday at 12:05 p.m.

Indians update: Indians are 36-29 at home after winning two of three from Kansas City over the weekend. … They have 32 comeback victories overall. … INF Jason Donald is hitting .375 (9-for-24) in his last six games. … C/1B Carlos Santana is hitting .292 (26-for-89) with four homers and 15 RBI in his last 22 games.

Athletics update: Last Wednesday in New York, former Indian OF Coco Crisp went 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBI. … May 4 in Oakland, Cahill moved to 5-0 with a 3-1 victory over the Indians.

Injuries: Indians — RF Shin-Soo Choo (left oblique) is day-to-day but is doubtful. OF Trevor Crowe (right shoulder), OF Grady Sizemore (right knee), RHP Carlos Carrasco (elbow), RHP Josh Tomlin (elbow), DH Travis Hafner (right foot) and 2B Jason Kipnis (right hamstring) are on disabled list. OF Michael Brantley (right hand) is out for the season. Athletics – RHP Trystan Magnuson (shoulder) and RHP Michael Wuertz (right thumb) are on disabled list. LHP Brett Anderson (elbow) and LHP Dallas Braden (shoulder) are out for season.

Next for Indians: Three-game trip begins Friday in Kansas City.

Oakland Athletics left-hander Dallas Braden needs shoulder surgery.

Braden, who pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay in May 2010, will have surgery Monday in New York to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder.

Oakland made the announcement during its game Wednesday in Texas, and said the recovery time will be determined after the operation by Dr. David Altchek, medical director of the New York Mets.

The A’s put Braden on the disabled list April 17, a day after he pitched five scoreless innings at Detroit but left early due to a stiff left shoulder. The decision for surgery came after Braden met this week with specialists in Florida and New York.

He was 1-1 with a 3.00 earned-run average this year.

The Athletics also Wednesday recalled right-hander Trystan Magnuson from AAA Sacramento and sent left-hander Jerry Blevins outright to that minor league team.

Blevins had allowed at least one run in six of his last eight appearances and was tied for second among Americna League relievers with 12 walks.

“Magnuson was throwing the ball extremely well down there, great reports, and he’s replacing a guy that was struggling,” manager Bob Geren said. “He’s a big kid who throws hard, is talented and is eager to learn.

Geren said injured closer Andrew Bailey, on the DL since spring training with a strained right forearm, will pitch in an extended spring training game Saturday. The right-hander will throw one inning or 20 pitches.

The Oakland Athletics head down to Anaheim to face the Los Angeles of said Anaheim in an important three game series. It’s hard to describe much of anything as “important” when you’ve only played 13.5% of the season. However, given how close the AL West race could be in late September, every divisional game is important.  Games may “feel” more important in September, but every game is worth the same amount, whether it’s game 33 or game 162.

The series features some quality pitching, although it remains to be seen how the A’s current fifth starter, Tyson Ross will fare against one of the two Angels aces, Dan Haren. In looking over the matchups, I would not be stunned to see the A’s only win one of three, as Weaver and Haren have a likely advantage in their matchups. Oakland’s offense has been strong the last two games, but it’s one thing to do that against the likes of Doug Fister and Jason Vargas. As the A’s showed the previous two nights, it’s entirely different against dominant pitchers like Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda. It will be interesting to see if the A’s are able to continue their strong showing against the likes of Weaver and Haren. That would be a true test of the where the A’s offense stands.

All three A’s-Angels games will be on TV, with the Wednesday late afternoon game featured on ESPN. The TV schedule for this weekend is as follows (all times pacific):

Monday – 7:05pm, CSN California
Tuesday – 7:05pm, CSN California
Wednesday – 4:05pm, CSN California/ESPN