The Red Sox received 26-year-old righty reliever Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later from the Cubs as compensation for Theo Epstein and a player to be named later, announced the teams today. The Cubs hired Epstein as their president of baseball operations in October, despite one year remaining on his contract as Boston's GM. Nearly four months after that announcement, Epstein and new Cubs GM Jed Hoyer reached a compensation agreement with former colleague and new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington. Epstein said in a statement:

"I am relieved that this process is over and particularly pleased that the teams were able to reach agreement on their own without intervention from MLB. I truly hope and believe that this resolution will benefit both clubs, as well as Chris, who is an extremely talented reliever joining a great organization at a time when there's some opportunity in the major league bullpen. More than anything, I'm excited that we can all move forward and focus exclusively on getting ready for the season. I wish Chris and the Red Sox nothing but the best in 2012 and beyond."

Carpenter, who made his big league debut with the Cubs last year, was recently ranked 13th on their prospect list by Baseball America. The Cubs converted Carpenter to relief late in 2010, and he averaged 96.5 miles per hour on his fastball in the Majors last year. His command and control are works in progress, but Baseball America thinks he could develop into a setup man. The Red Sox placed Bobby Jenks on the 60-day DL to create a 40-man roster spot for Carpenter.

The inclusion of two players to be named later means this saga has not quite reached its conclusion, but an April 15th deadline is already in place and Cherington expects resolution by the end of spring training. The Cubs also owe compensation to the Padres for Hoyer, which Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune notes will get done very soon and will not involve anyone on the team's 40-man roster.

WEEI's Alex Speier first reported the Red Sox would receive a pitcher from the Cubs' 40-man roster.