Joe Maddon Rumors: Latest News and Gossip on Manager's Future

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 30

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal has the latest on Maddon and the Cubs:

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 29

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman is reporting Joe Maddon will be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs:

However, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal has conflicting information:

Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reported what he was hearing about Joe Maddon's talks with the Cubs:

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Major-league sources say the Cubs, who have been in discussions this week with free-agent manager Joe Maddon, could have an answer by Friday. Either they will land Maddon, finding the perfect manager for their multiyear rebuilding mission, or they will have swung and missed, leaving them with a mess on their hands with incumbent Rick Renteria.

Maddon’s Chicago-based agent, Alan Nero, told the Sun-Times over the weekend that he expected clarity this week.

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Updates from Monday, Oct. 27 

ESPN's Buster Olney weighed-in on where we believes Joe Maddon will end up via Nick Devlin of aroundtherings.com:

Updates from Saturday, Oct. 25 

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times provides an update on Joe Maddon from agent Alan Nero:

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Nero said he received "a lot of, lot of phone calls" inquiring about Maddon's interest in broadcast and front office advisor-type roles, and some requests from teams he wouldn't disclose to not make any decisions until hearing back from them, indicating potential interest in hiring Maddon to replace a manager they would have to fire or reassign.

"Nothing concrete, nothing to report,'' Nero said. "We're going to take it slow. I think things will start to develop next week.''

Nero said Maddon was prepared to sit out the 2015 season - or to do TV work - if the right managing opportunity didn't present itself, but he is also confident Maddon will get an opportunity.

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Original Text: 

Joe Maddon has become the hottest managerial free agent Major League Baseball has seen in some time. The rumors about potential suitors have come fast and furious in the hours since it was announced he wouldn't return to the Tampa Bay Rays.  

That shocking development was first reported by ESPN's Buster Olney, who said that Maddon exercised an out clause in his contract:

After that, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that industry insiders believe Maddon's next job will be with the Chicago Cubs:

Among the other possible destinations, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the New York Mets don't plan on making a change from Terry Collins:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted that the Mets were one of four teams he's talked to or have already definitively said they won't be changing managers:

Sherman also reported on the deal that Maddon is seeking at his next destination:

As soon as it was reported that Maddon wasn't going to be with Tampa Bay anymore, the assumption was he would join Andrew Friedman in Los Angeles. Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times had this quote from Friedman to squash that rumor:

The Angels also confirmed that they won't be making a move for Maddon, via Aiden Gonzalez of MLB.com:

It's no wonder that so many teams are at least being asked about Maddon. He's arguably the best manager in baseball and helped turn the Rays into a consistent playoff contender in the American League East despite all the franchise's payroll limitations. 

He's also one of the best in the business at incorporating metrics and strategy into a game plan, as Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post noted in 2013:

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An expert in advanced metrics, Maddon employs more defensive shifts than almost any manager in baseball, asks switch hitters to hit right-handed against right-handed pitchers and even intentionally walked home a run in a 2008 game against the Texas Rangers, when he opted to walk Josh Hamilton with two outs and a 7-3 lead in the ninth.

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The Cubs actually make sense as a landing spot for Maddon, despite Rick Renteria's presence in the dugout. He's got a great history of working with and helping develop young talent, which Chicago has a lot of already and more coming in the next two years. 

General manager Jed Hoyer and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein know Maddon very well from their days in Boston. They are also heavy into advanced stats and metrics that Maddon uses.

Rick Renteria was hired last November and really had no chance to succeed in 2014 with the team he had. The Cubs started to get more interesting after bringing up Javier Baez, Jorge Soler and Arismendy Alcantara. The question is whether Hoyer and Epstein believe Renteria is the right guy or if Maddon can get them to the next level. 

It's going to be fascinating what happens with Maddon this offseason. The only managerial job open right now is in Minnesota, but it's hard to see some team not creating a spot for one of the best and most inventive minds in baseball. 

Maddon has changed the entire landscape of baseball's coming offseason. It's been a long time since anyone could say that about a manager. 

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