With the firing of Rick Renteria coming Friday -- in which the Cubs made very clear former Rays manager Joe Maddon is their man -- the Cubs are planning a press conference for Monday to announce Maddon as their next manager, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
Heyman first broke the news that Maddon would be the Cubs next manager Wednesday.
The Cubs spent the past few seasons rebuilding and believe their young talent is at the right place to start going hard in free agency this offseason, and the hiring of Maddon is yet another message in a long line that the club is in the final stages of the rebuild.
Maddon, 60, is generally considered a top-five manager in baseball. He took over the then-Devil Rays in 2006 when they were an embarrassment. From 2008-13, though, they never had a losing record, making the playoffs four out of six seasons and taking the AL pennant in 2008. All this on a meager payroll with the Rays often having to trade veterans for prospects or simply lose key players to free agency, they won 90-plus games five out of six seasons from 2008-13.
This past season, the Rays got off to a dreadful start and finished 77-85. Club president Andrew Friedman was hired away by the Dodgers, which triggered an opt-out clause in Maddon's contract, and he recently exercised it.
Per the Cubs' statement in firing Renteria Friday, this is what caused them to look into a change.
And it appears that will all come to fruition Monday.
