Rarely does the sudden availability of a manager set off the type of frenzy than Joe Maddon opting out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays did on Friday. With the World Series scene shifting to San Francisco, seemingly all anyone could talk about was Maddon and his potential suitors, likely much to the chagrin of Bud Selig. Of the suitors, one appears to be head and shoulders above the rest as a potential landing spot for the man widely considered to be one of the top two or three managers in the game.
The Chicago Cubs have a manager. His name is Rick Renteria, and he’s under contract for one more year, coming off of a decent first year as skipper. He built up a great rapport with a lot of the young talent that the Cubs are going, particularly Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro. He did struggle at times with his in-game management (an unhealthy amount of bunting) and utilizing his bullpen, but the strategic elements of managing the game can develop over time. However, Renteria may not get that opportunity with the Cubs.
The 2015 season is the one that is widely expected to illustrate a turnaround for the Chicago Cubs. Much of their premium young talent made an appearance this past season, and Kris Bryant is expected to make his debut very early on, with Addison Russell possibly joining up later on in the year. They’re expected to pursue multiple free agents this offseason, such as Jon Lester or James Shields, as well as position players like Russell Martin or Nick Markakis. They’re not title contenders next year, but they’ll be in the mix for a playoff spot, and then their stock continues to rise from there.
Which is just one reason that the Cubs are such an intriguing commodity. They have an extremely impressive stable of young talent. The foundation is there. They have money to spend. The front office knows what they’re doing, on so many levels. Wrigley Field recently began the first stage of its renovation. For the first time in a very long time, the Cubs have everything working in their favor. Joe Maddon taking the place of Renteria as manager would just be the cherry on top.
It’s an unfortunate situation for Rick Renteria. He’s a nice guy who could be a solid manager. At the same time, if there is genuine interest between the Cubs and Maddon, the pursuit needs to be there. This is a top manager in the game, and one proven capable of working very well with young talent. He’s the type of face that makes so much sense for the Cubs in the next phase of their rebuild, that it’s surprising he hasn’t already held up a jersey with blue pinstripes next to Theo Epstein.
Of course, this is no lock. The Cubs do have a manager in place, after all. But their silence to this point, when so many other potential suitors have already stated that they will not be approaching Maddon about taking over as manager for their club really tells you all you need to know about the situation. They want him. And they should.
Perhaps they could move Renteria into some sort of player development capacity, which he’d be extremely well suited for. However, that doesn’t seem likely, as it’d be difficult to envision anyone accepting that type of move, as it does represent something of a demotion in the eyes of a lot of people. That’s a dream scenario, of course. At the end of the day, though, Rick Renteria was never going to be the guy to lead the Cubs to where they want to be. Maddon is that guy. The next several days/weeks are going to be very interesting.
