Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts hired Stephen J.K. Walters to be a top consultant on all expenditures for the organization.

Walters -- a professor of economics at Loyola University Maryland -- was hired in March to help analyze and make recommendations on the budget for every department in the organization, including baseball operations, according to MLB sources.

Ricketts made his first baseball operations hire in the summer of 2010, moving Ari Kaplan into the role of manager of statistical analysis. Kaplan's job entails computer and scouting analysis, with special attention to the skills of present and future players.

Walters, 57, received a bachelors degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a masters from the University of California and a Ph.D. from UCLA. He was named a distinguished teacher of the year at Loyola University Maryland in 2005.

His first experience in baseball was consulting for Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. He also served as a consultant to former Boston Red Sox general manger Dan Duquette.

Walters said in an e-mail that he is working under a non-disclosure agreement with the Cubs which prevents him from speaking in public about his job.

Among Walters' memberships is the Society for American Baseball Research.