It's officially official. Following about a week of speculation, Joe Maddon has signed a multi-year contract to become the manager of the Chicago Cubs after opting out of his deal with the Tampa Bay Rays on October 24. The Cubs introduced the 60-year-old on Monday.
As expected, Maddon signed a deal that would make him one of the highest-paid managers in all of baseball. His five-year, $25 million contract will put him atop the league in annual salary with Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia and will also include incentives for postseason achievements. Unlike his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, this one will not have an opt-out clause.
Maddon's arrival comes at the expense of former Cubs' manager Rick Renteria. Team president Theo Epstein hired Renteria before the 2014 season and signed him to a three-year contract, but when Maddon became available the team decided they needed to pounce on the opportunity they were presented with. Renteria was fired on Friday after only one year and a 73-89 record with the team. The Cubs announced they would introduce Maddon on Monday.
"While there was no clear playbook for how to handle this type of situation, we knew we had to be transparent with Rick before engaging with Joe," Epstein said in the statement on Friday. "Jed flew to San Diego last Friday and told Rick in person of our intention to talk to Joe about the managerial job. Subsequently, Jed and I provided updates to Rick via telephone and today informed him that we will indeed make a change."
Renteria turned down opportunities to stay within the organization and said he will pursue endeavors elsewhere. Maddon's nine-year stint with the Tampa Bay Rays, which included five 90-plus win seasons and a World Series appearance, proved to be the difference maker in the front office's decision. Maddon compiled a 754-705 record with the Rays, who had a similarly constructed roster that the Cubs do now. The difference is that the Cubs have some spending power since they're in a bigger market, unlike the Rays who have one of the lowest payrolls in the MLB.
With that spending power, Epstein says he and Hoyer plan to bring in some talent from outside the organization to help improve the roster, especially the starting rotation. Maddon's presence certainly helps their ability to do so because of his success with teams that lacked top-tier talent. If Chicago improves their rotation with Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and/or James Shields, they'll be setting themselves up nicely for 2015 and beyond.
At the end of his introductory press conference, Maddon offered to buy drinks for everyone at The Cubby Bear, a local restaurant and sports bar in Chicago. He'll surely be a hit with Cubs fans now.