How Jon Jay helps fill leadership void within Cubs clubhouse

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Jon Jay raved about Albert Almora Jr.’s game when he met with Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer at Swift & Sons, the West Loop steakhouse, during the week before Thanksgiving.

This wasn’t just a free agent telling the bosses what they wanted to hear or trying too hard to make a good first impression. Jay and Almora both grew up in Miami as part of Cuban-American families and had gone through offseason workouts together, part of a group that also included Baltimore Orioles star Manny Machado.

Jay played at the University of Miami, where he developed into a second-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. Almora committed to the Hurricanes before becoming the first player the Epstein administration drafted in 2012.

Now the Cubs envision this as an ideal timeshare in center field, and it goes way beyond left- and right-handed matchups and the flexibility with Jay’s one-year, $8 million contract. Jay would like to influence Almora’s career in the same way that Carlos Beltran once mentored him in St. Louis.

“I’m looking forward to doing that with Albert and helping him be the best player he can,” Jay said Thursday on a conference call with reporters. “I’m honored and I’m real excited to be part of this special group, this special movement that’s going on now in Chicago.”

Jay isn’t Grandpa Rossy 2.0. Jay had actually been looking to trade in his “sports car” for a “Dad-mobile” when his pregnant wife got a phone call from the doctor saying to go to the hospital – right around the time the Cubs announced his new deal. Concerns about the Zika virus compelled the Jays to spend this offseason in the St. Louis area. By Wednesday morning, the Jays welcomed twin girls into their family.

But the Cubs certainly had a retired catcher in mind when they targeted Jay, who will be 32 next season and won’t be looking for a farewell tour.

“From a makeup and leadership standpoint, he’s got an off-the-charts reputation,” Hoyer said. “We knew that losing David Ross would be a big void for us, and bringing in a guy like Jon was something that was important to us. He can come in and complement the really good group of young leaders that we already have.

“We didn’t feel like there was that many guys that could come into a team that just won the World Series and be able to fit that seamlessly and help lead this team.

“A lot of the comments we’ve gotten from his now teammates indicate that his reputation definitely precedes him.”

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In the same way that the Cubs methodically identified free agents during the rebuilding years, they will be selective about the players who will augment the team that defends the franchise’s first World Series title in 108 years.

“We’ll try to be thoughtful with which veterans we bring in,” Epstein said, “and their character and how invested they are in their teammates and winning. I hope we get the right guys, but then also I think there’s a gradual transition.

“We have a lot of young veterans now. Not just rookies, but young veterans who’ve won a championship and demonstrated a lot of mental toughness. We know how to win now, so gradually they will take control of the leadership of the clubhouse. And we’re going to give them the room to do that.”

Jay grew up with the Cardinal Way and witnessed how much the Cubs have changed since his rookie year in 2010. He earned a World Series ring with the 2011 team, the beginning of a run that saw him play in the postseason five straight years before getting traded to the San Diego Padres last winter.

Jay’s 12th and final playoff series in a St. Louis uniform saw the Cubs win the first postseason matchup in a rivalry that stretches all the way back to 1892. And will never be the same again.

“I saw everything change as soon as Theo got over there,” Jay said. “You could always see the potential that the organization had, and that showed in 2015 when they had a great year (and) they beat us.

“You could just see how the future was bright. I could see that it was going to be a special place with the atmosphere. I remember playing there in September of 2015 and just seeing the crowd, how the city really stood up and really backed the team during the playoffs that year.

“I’m just happy to join this good group of guys and try to do my part to fit in.”

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