As expected from the day after he parted ways with the Cubs, Joe Maddon is going to return to his coaching roots.
After firing Brad Ausmus just one year into his contract, the Angels have their next manager:
Joe Maddon and #LAAngels are close to a deal to make him their next manager
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 16, 2019
Good for Joe Maddon landing where he wanted to land, there with the organization where he spent decades. Knew it wouldn’t be a problem for him to get a good gig. With Maddon, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Tommy La Stella(!), I would say it’s going to be pretty easy to root for the Angels next year.
The only caveat there is how they resolve the opioid scandal involving Tyler Skaggs’ death, and the front office’s failure to protect him and other players. Maddon is walking into a tough situation on that side of things.
Once things are official and we get into the offseason, you do wonder to what extent Maddon will have a little extra pull on roster construction, and whether that will mean he gets a say in trying to pull in any players from the Cubs. Consider, the Cubs are obviously going to be reshaping their roster, so it would only make sense that connections to the Angels would be explored.
UPDATE: As expected, it’s a pay cut from Maddon’s $6 million rate with the Cubs, because the market just doesn’t bear huge managerial price tags anymore:
Joe Maddon deal with Angels likely to be for 3 years. In the 12-15 mil range.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) October 16, 2019
UPDATE 2: It’s officially official:
OFFICIAL: The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to terms with manager Joe Maddon. pic.twitter.com/PKZHBaljl8
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) October 16, 2019