There could be an official announcement at some point Friday the Cubs have hired Joe Maddon to be the 54th manager in franchise history. Multiple reports Thursday indicated the two sides were still in negotiations, but everything was pointing to Maddon being named the team’s manager.
Due to several reports stating the front office had not communicated with Rick Renteria throughout this process, the front office’s pursuit of Maddon has not played out well in the press. The public perception has been that the Cubs have kept Renteria in the dark and have not spoken with him about the situation. Over the last week, reports have shifted from zero communication to only Theo Epstein not talking to Renteria.
According to reports Friday morning from David Kaplan, Jed Hoyer flew to California and met face to face with Renteria before the Cubs engaged talks with Joe Maddon and his agent, Alan Nero. It would make sense for Hoyer to be the one to meet with Renteria considering he pushed for the hire a year ago. Renteria is obviously disappointed with the decision to talk to Maddon and there is still an outside shot of him staying in the organization in a different capacity.
Kaplan also reported that Joe Maddon is on a trip with his family and the Cubs are working on the contract with Alan Nero. Maddon left Florida in his R.V. last Friday for his home in California and was supposed to stop off in Arizona to visit family.
According to Kaplan, negotiations between the Cubs and Alan Nero could continue Friday and into the weekend. Kaplan also pointed out that a press conference to introduce Joe Maddon might have to wait until after Tuesday. Pete Ricketts is running for governor in Nebraska and Tom Ricketts will be there.
Another reason in delaying the announcement, beside public perception both in and outside of baseball, could be the Cubs working on a contract extension with Theo Epstein.
Dan Bernstein reported Friday the team might extend Epstein’s contract in order to align him with Maddon for the next five years. If that is the case, Epstein would be looking at a three-year contract extension.
Multiple reports toward the end of the season pointed to Tom Ricketts extending Epstein’s contract this off-season. Theo Epstein signed a five-year deal in October 2011 that runs through the 2016 season.
Theo Epstein said at the time the reports surfaced he was not concerned about his contract that he had other, other objectives going into the off-season.
“It’s really not a concern for me. I’m just focused on growing the organization,” Epstein said. “But I’m sure we’ll talk this winter about longer-term plans, and how all the different personnel fit into that mix. I love coming to work each day. I love the people I work with. I love the challenge that we all have here. And I’m probably more optimistic right now than I’ve ever been that we’re going to accomplish our goals, and I very much want to be a part of when it happens.”
