CHICAGO — After the end of the 2014 Chicago Cubs season, Theo Epstein spoke optimistically about the upcoming offseason. It was time to get serious. “Knowing the money will be there changes the lens in which you view every transaction,” said Epstein, then the president of baseball operations. The Cubs had cleared about $41 million off the payroll after their third straight last-place finish in the National League Central, and Epstein and business operations president Crane Kenney were addressing a group of season ticket holders at the Oriental Theater. The Cubs wound up spending smartly that o…
