Joe Maddon won’t manage Tampa Bay Rays in 2015
Contrary to statements he made 10 days ago after Andrew Friedman left the Tampa Bay Rays to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, Joe Maddon reportedly is using an opt-out clause in his contract with the Rays to leave the organization. He won’t manage them in 2015, which Major League Baseball’s account on Twitter confirms. Buster Olney of ESPN had the news first.
As Dave Cameron of Fangraphs points out, it’s amazing how feelings can change so quickly.
“I’m a Ray, I’ve said it all along, I want to continue to be one,” Maddon said. “‘I still believe … it’s the best place in all of baseball to work…
Until it’s not.
Even though Maddon worked well with Rays ownership, problems in Tampa Bay remain because of their stadium issues, which don’t appear to be close to resolution. He’s also been in the same place for nine years and might just want a change after all.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported first that Maddon’s “opt-out” clause was triggrered once Friedman left the club. It opened a window for the Rays to give Maddon a contract extension and a raise, but neither of which “worked out,” Maddon told Tampa Bay media.
As soon as the Dodgers lured Friedman to lead their baseball operations after the season ended, speculation began that he would want to bring Maddon with him to manage his new club on the field. Maddon pooh-poohed the notion, saying he was under contract with Tampa Bay (while ignoring the clause that’s letting him out of his deal now) and that he was happy where he was.
Conversely, media in Los Angeles asked Friedman about replacing Don Mattingly as manager, as Dodgers executives — aside from owner Mark Walter — reportedly were open to making a change.
“I’m going into it with the mind-set we’re going to work together for a long time. I had one manager in the 10 years I’ve been doing this and am looking forward to working with Donnie for a long time,” Friedman said.
Unless he’s not.
Friedman and other national media types are shooting down the Maddon-to-L.A. possibility:
Maddon’s teams in Tampa Bay have a 754-705 record since 2006, when the organization was a laughingstock and still called the “Devil Rays.” But since 2008, under Friedman’s leadership off the field and Maddon’s on it, the Rays have been to the World Series, and reached the playoffs four times. Maddon has become something of a rock star among major league managers, with a friendly and easy-going style, acceptance of new ideas with an old-school devotion to baseball, along with a noticeable air of confidence. Kind of a more benevolent Phil Jackson.
Maddon also lives in Long Beach, Calif., during the offseason and used to coach the Los Angeles Angels before joining Tampa Bay. He’s got roots in Southern California.
The Dodgers finished first in the National League West division the past two seasons, and Mattingly got lots of credit for keeping the Dodgers’ clubhouse together in 2013. But the bloom seemed to be off the rose in 2014 when the team appeared to underachieve despite having the biggest payroll in the league.
Friedman and Maddon were a winning combination in Tampa Bay and could be again with the Dodgers, but it’s also possible that having seemingly limitless resources could make winning consistently harder using philosophies that worked with a poorer team. More money, more problems, as a noted poet once said. But also more challenges. And different challenges. And that’s what drives men such as Friedman and Maddon.
If not Los Angeles for Maddon, then where? How about the Chicago Cubs, where Rick Renteria is under contract?
The Cubs. Now there’s a challenge.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
