*Photo from CBS Sports*
Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced that manager Joe Maddon will not return to lead the team in 2020. Maddon made the announcement with Epstein after the two came to an agreement during a meeting at the team's St.Louis hotel on Saturday night. Epstein said that "We both agreed that this type of change is, that it's time, and this type of change is a win-win, it's gonna be great for Joe. ... And it's gonna be good for the Cubs, too. I think we're at a point where we just need a little bit of change, something new, and that's natural."
Maddon said that "It's just time. That happens, we're both gonna move on, the Cubs are gonna flourish. Hopefully I get a chance to do this somewhere else. But there's no tears shed. It's a good moment for everybody, and we're both excited about our futures." Maddon's 5 year tenure with the Cubs included 4 playoff appearances and the 2016 world series title, ending the Cubs' 108 year drought. The Cubs stumbled in his final two years, losing a 163rd game to decide the division to the Milwaukee Brewers, and then losing the wild card game to the Colorado Rockies in 2018, both at Wrigley Field. This year, they had a horrific September and failed to make the playoffs.
Regardless, Maddon is likely going to be the top manager available, as he led both the Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays to the world series in his tenure, though the Rays didn't win. The Los Angeles Angels, a team Maddon has interim managed, the New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies could be competitors for his services. Epstein said that "He won't talk about this right now but I will: There's gonna be a bidding war for his services, and there should be."
*Photo from CBS Sports*
The Pittsburgh Pirates have fired longtime manager Clint Hurdle, general manager Neil Huntington announced. There was talk of Hurdle returning, but that didn't end up happening. He also didn't manage Sunday's season finale against the Cincinnati Reds due to the fact that he had been fired, despite the fact that Huntington allowed him to. Bench Coach Tom Prince managed instead. Huntington said that "We will be forever grateful for his dedication to the Pirates organization on and off the field, this was an extremely difficult decision for us. As an organization, we believe it was time for a managerial change to introduce a new voice and new leadership inside the clubhouse."
Over 9 seasons with the Pirates, Hurdle had a 735-720-1 record, which is the 4th most wins in Pirates history. In 2013, he led the team to their first winning season and playoff berth in 20 years, which began a run on 3 straight playoff appearances. The 2019 season was not good, however, as there were multiple clubhouse brawls, leading to discipline of several players, namely Keone Kela. He also navigated through Jameson Taillon's season ending injury, and the Felipe Vazquez arrest earlier this month. All this led to last place in the NL central.
*Photo from Bleacher Report*
The Los Angeles Angels have dismissed manager Brad Ausmus after one season, the team announced a few hours ago. Ausmus led the Angels to a 72-90 record, finishing 35 games back of the Houston Astros in the AL west. The Angels also dealt with Tyler Skaggs' tragic death in July. General manager Billy Eppler said today that "I want to thank Brad for his hard work and dedication to this organization over the last two seasons as both a special assistant and field manager, he navigated this franchise through one of its most difficult seasons with class and professionalism."
Most of the Angels coaching staff is expected to return in 2020. The dismissal of Ausmus paves a way for Joe Maddon to return, as he was an interim manager for the Angels in one of his many years with the organization before leading the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs. Maddon reportedly isn't interested in the Angels job, but we'll have to see.
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