Maddon's exit fuels hot stove; Cubs front-runners to land former Rays skipper
For all the talk of Max Scherzer and Jon Lester, this winter's most coveted free agent doesn't even play.
Joe Maddon's sudden departure from the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday created ripple effects throughout baseball, with everyone from the Los Angeles Dodgers to New York Mets offering job security to their incumbents.
One team noticeably quiet: The Chicago Cubs.
Maddon interviewed to be the Boston Red Sox manager in 2003 before then-general manager Theo Epstein settled on Terry Francona. Over a decade later, Epstein and the Cubs are considered front-runners to land the free-agent skipper.
The Cubs' roster is rich on young talent, similar to the team Maddon inherited when he joined the Rays in 2006. Where Tampa Bay was stacked with pitching, Chicago is loaded with bats.
While Cubs manager Rick Renteria remains under contract through 2016 with a pair of club options, Maddon's pedigree places him in a good position to unseat the 52-year-old skipper.
Maddon cited two main reasons for opting out of his contract: an inability to reach an extension with the Rays and a curiosity to pursue other opportunities.
"I don't know," Maddon said, when asked about the Cubs by Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Friday. "I have to talk to people. I have interest everywhere right now. I've got to hear what everyone has to say."
Maddon, 60, also left the door open to accepting a non-managerial position.
"I'd love to manage," he said. "If the right opportunity does not present itself, I would want to work. But I would hope it would be a managing position. If not, there are other things I can do that would make me an even better manager when I get the opportunity again."
Maddon's exit even prompted the Dodgers to release a statement reiterating for the second time this week that manager Don Mattingly's job is safe.
"Nothing has changed on our end," Maddon's former Tampa Bay boss, Andrew Friedman, said. "Don Mattingly will be our manager next season and hopefully for a long time to come."