Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have made a number of moves in their first offseason with the Cubs, acquiring Travis Wood, Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers in trades and signing David DeJesus, Manny Corpas and Andy Sonnanstine as free agents.

The Cubs also made a more subtle change that could impact their daily performance: The team hired former Red Sox major league scout Kyle Evans and put him in charge of the Cubs’ revamped video and advance scouting.

While Epstein is generally associated with the rise of sabermetric analysis in the sport, he has long employed a large number of scouts – including advance scouts who help the coaching staff and players with game preparation. While with the Red Sox, Epstein employed two advance scouts at a time when other clubs had none.

Epstein and Hoyer have carried an emphasis on advance scouting with them, hoping that Evans will get targeted information into the hands of manager Dale Sveum, coaches and players. The team plans to utilize scouting reports, analytical data and video to produce easy-to-digest information that is most applicable on the field.

This is another case of successful practices in Boston following Epstein to Chicago. Going forward, though, there are restrictions on people themselves making that move. The Cubs hired away amateur scout Matt Dorey and promoted him to national crosschecker, then subsequently agreed not to hire any other Red Sox front-office personnel until December 2014. Evans, whose contract was expiring, did not count against the limit.

— Jon Paul Morosi