Joe Maddon has all but signed his name on the dotted line. The Chicago Cubs fired manager Rick Renteria on Friday, which officially opens the door for Maddon, who opted out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays exactly one week ago.
Although Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported on Thursday that Maddon was on the "verge of agreeing to a mega deal," nothing is official just yet. But Maddon's arrival to Chicago is now imminent following the dismissal of Renteria, who still had two years remaining on his contract. The Cubs finished 73-89 in 2014 and last place in the NL Central . Team president Theo Epstein released a statement earlier today regarding Renteria:
"Today we made the difficult decision to replace Rick Renteria as manager of the Chicago Cubs. On behalf of Tom Ricketts and Jed Hoyer, I thank Rick for his dedication and commitment, and for making the Cubs a better organization."
Speculation of Maddon heading to Chicago began last Friday when he left the Rays. It was believed he might head out west to join former Rays' exec Andrew Friedman and the Los Angeles Dodgers (where he also has a house), but those rumors were shot down quickly after it was reiterated Don Mattingly would remain with the team. The Cubs presented the best option for Maddon, who became an expert in managing such similarly structured teams in Tampa Bay. In the same press release that broke the firing of Renteria, Epstein also mentioned the team's pursuit of Maddon:
"Last Thursday, we learned that Joe Maddon - who may be as well suited as anyone in the industry to manage the challenges that lie ahead of us - had become a free agent. We confirmed the news with Major League Baseball, and it became public knowledge the next day. We saw it as a unique opportunity and faced a clear dilemma: be loyal to Rick or be loyal to the organization. In this business of trying to win a world championship for the first time in 107 years, the organization has priority over any one individual. We decided to pursue Joe."
Chicago had toned down talks of their pursuit of Maddon earlier in the week so they wouldn't take attention away from the World Series or continue to indirectly affront Renteria. In fact, the talks have directly insulted executives in the MLB, according to sources. Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes:
"Amid widespread expectation in the industry that Maddon will be named Cubs manager, and conflicting reports about whether the hire has already happened, lifers were saying that the mere possibility did not look good. Maddon is well-liked, and his competitors are hoping that the full details, when they emerge, will prove more flattering. For now, the fraternity is displeased. 'The whole industry is talking about what a classless act (this is),'" said one high-ranking major league executive.
Epstein said the Cubs offered Renteria a choice of other positions within the organization, but the manager opted to explore his options elsewhere. After all, the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays are looking for managers and there are a number of clubs looking for bench coaches, which he's previously served as. The same situation also occurred with Tim Bogar in Texas, who served as interim manager this September and was then passed up for the job opening for Jeff Banister. Rangers' GM Jon Daniels gave Bogar the option to return to the team, but he declined and will pursue other positions.
Now it looks like Maddon could be joining the Cubs as early as this weekend, which was reported earlier in the week. Maddon's presence will likely expedite the development of the plethora of young talent the Cubs have as well as attract big name free agent pitchers the team plans to pursue in the coming weeks.
UPDATE: The Chicago Cubs plan to introduce Joe Maddon as their new manager on Monday.