Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon has opted out of his deal, a move that caught management off guard….
Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said he was “surprised” and “disappointed” that Maddon chose to leave, and that he was “very comfortable” what what he called “very generous” offers. Silverman said he was confident the money component was not the reason Maddon left.
So, as a baseball fan, you look to see who has an immediate opening for a manager. Just one team – the Minnesota Twins. Would Maddon opt out to head there? Seems unlikely.
What’s next? Former Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman got paid $35 million to ditch Tampa and head to Los Angeles, so it would only make sense if Maddon followed him out to the west coast. But then there are reports saying the Dodgers are sticking with Don Mattingly as their manager….
Dodgers’ president of baseball operations said just one week ago that Mattingly will “definitely” be the Dodgers’ manager for a fifth season in 2015, and any decision otherwise would necessitate some serious back-tracking.
“We’re very aligned on a lot of things philosophically and have thoroughly enjoyed those conversations,” Friedman said of preliminary talks with Mattingly. “We’re going to get together next week and I’ll look forward to building that relationship.”
Where else could Maddon be headed?
Chicago? The Cubs? Could it be? Theo has made it pretty clear he wants to see big improvement in 2015. Hiring a guy like Maddon would be a big step to getting there. That’s not taking away from Rick Renteria, who had some success as Cubs manager this season. But thinking about the kinds of things Maddon was able to do with young players in Tampa, and if the Cubs were to add some big name arms in the off season, it could make for an exciting summer on the North Side. We’ll see how this plays out. Here are more of the reports, speculation, and my personal favorite, UNCONFIRMED RUMORS floating around right now!
– The New York Post says the Cubs and Mets are frontrunners to land Maddon.
– The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan thinks the Cubs make the perfect fit for Maddon.
