Sveum to learn Monday if he's returning next season

CHICAGO -- Dale Sveum is signed for next season, but the Cubs manager and his coaching staff are expected to find out their status for 2014 on Monday in meetings with Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations.

"I'm not going to sit here and lie and say you're not wondering what's going to happen four, five days from now," Sveum said Wednesday. "That's just human nature. There's nothing you can do about it, or control those decisions. You just keep plugging away."

Last week, Epstein would not say whether Sveum would return, but said the manager and staff were being evaluated. Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer have said Sveum will not be judged on the Cubs' record, knowing that the team is in rebuilding mode. Sveum knew that when he took the job.

"Nothing's really changed," Sveum said. "The bottom line is we haven't won as many games as we'd like to. I knew getting this job there was going to be a good chance of people getting traded for prospects and that we needed to get the Minor League system much healthier and hit the jackpot on some free agents that we signed. Nothing's really changed from what I was told. You're never promised anything."

Sveum, in his second full season as manager, said he understood that Epstein and Hoyer had a checklist.

"That's their job to evaluate the organization on a daily basis," Sveum said. "Wins and losses, they've told everybody they're not evaluating on wins and losses."

The Cubs finish the season in St. Louis with a three-game series, starting Friday. Sveum and his coaching staff are expected to meet Monday in Chicago with Epstein and Hoyer.

"That's part of the gig is knowing the day after the season," Sveum said.

The Cubs have used a franchise record 56 players, with a few of those arriving via trades or waiver claims. Sveum is hoping fans can see the progress in the system, including players such as first-round Draft pick Kris Bryant.

"If anybody pays attention, they know we're much much healthier than we were a couple years ago," Sveum said. "Our Minor League pitcher of the year [Kyle Hendricks] came from a trade, plus the [addition of] C.J. Edwards and the international signings we've had. In two years, it's come a long way. I think the fans know, but patience can go so far."

Sveum wasn't going to alter his style in the final four games.

"I don't try to do anything other than who I am," he said. "That's how I live my life, and that's my personality. I don't let a lot of things bother me or dwell on things. There are frustrations that go with everything, but I don't really take it home with me."