Cubs GM, scouting director get 5 more years

CINCINNATI (AP) Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer and scouting and player development director Jason McLeod agreed to contract extensions through the 2021 season Friday, mirroring president of baseball operations Theo Epstein's deal two days earlier.

The NL Central champions, with the best record in the majors, announced the deals before playing Cincinnati.

Hoyer and McLeod joined the franchise on Nov. 1, 2011, and have helped put together a team that has qualified for postseason play in consecutive seasons for just the third time in club history.

The Cubs went into the final series of the regular season with a 101-57 record - just the third team in major league history to win at least 100 games within four years of a 100-loss season.

Epstein, Hoyer and McLeod all worked together with the Boston Red Sox, including their World Series championship seasons in 2004 and 2007.

Hoyer was the Padres' general manager in 2010-11 and McLeod worked with him.

''It is nice to keep the band together,'' Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ''Continuity is really, really important. People don't understand that until they really get involved with it or maybe they get in a situation where it's not happening.''

In a statement, Epstein said: ''Jed and Jason are simply the best at what they do and have played fundamentally important leadership roles in helping the Cubs build a healthy and thriving organization.''

''We feel honored to have the stability and support that we enjoy throughout baseball operations and look forward to many years of working together in Chicago,'' he said.