Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein have both said recently that a new deal for the club's top executive is getting closer.

Epstein's five-year deal runs out after this season, but he hopes to be in Chicago "for a long time."

"We had good, productive conversations," Epstein said. "Neither one of us had a ton of time to focus on it. No cause of concern. We had good talks. We both feel like it will get done sometime soon."

The Cubs are a World Series favorite this year and still possess a robust farm system, despite graduating several key prospects to the major leagues.

"We talked about it at spring training," Ricketts said. "I think we'll get to a conclusion pretty soon."