NEWSLETTER
A special assistant to former GM Jim Hendry, Greg Maddux has been a helpful mind to have in the Chicago Cubs’ front office over the past two years.
That helpful mind is now leaving.
According to Major League sources, Maddux has informed the Cubs that he will not return in 2012, instead potentially taking a similar position with the Texas Rangers, where his brother, Mike, is the pitching coach. You’ll recall that Mike Maddux was a candidate for the Cubs’ managerial gig before deciding to stay in Texas, and brief scuttlebutt had him bringing Greg along as his pitching coach in Chicago, if he were to get the job.
Cubs’ President Theo Epstein, who reached out to Maddux as one of his first orders of business upon taking a job with the Cubs, declined to comment.
Maddux’s role with the Cubs was never precisely defined or understood, and it was not a full-time role. Still, the Cubs had the benefit of Maddux’s insight, as he frequently met with minor league pitchers whom he helped as they developed their craft. And there was always a tacit hope that, one day, he’d take on a more formal, full-time role with the Cubs.
Maddux has been dealing with family issues for some time now, specifically related to his daughter’s serious migraine problems. Whatever role he takes with the Rangers may be as limited as his role with the Cubs.
There are no hard feelings, of course, and I have no doubt that Theo Epstein did all he could to retain Maddux’s services.
