MLB Rumors: Chicago Cubs Will Likely Be Looking For A New Manager After 2019 Season

Expectations are high for the Chicago Cubs in the 2019 MLB season, and that appears to be especially true for Joe Maddon. Amid rumors over the last several months that the manager might not have much time left in the Windy City, Maddon could very well be entering his final year with the club.

On the latest episode of ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” podcast, Buster Olney surmised that Maddon likely won’t return for the 2020 season unless the Cubs at least reach this year’s World Series. ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian concurred with the idea that Maddon’s job security depended on the team winning the National League pennant. Kurkjian even speculated that Maddon’s job could be in jeopardy if the team got off to a slow start.

Cubs’ president of baseball operations Theo Epstein made it clear at the start of the offseason that Maddon wouldn’t be offered a contract extension. Maddon is entering the final year of his contract.

USA Today reported in August that Maddon’s job security would be tenuous if Chicago didn’t make a deep playoff run. The Cubs blew a five-game lead atop the NL Central in the final month of the season and lost in the NL Wild-Card Game.

Maddon has experienced more success than any Cubs’ manager in the last century. He’s reached the playoffs and won more than 90 games in all four seasons with Chicago. The Cubs ended their 108-year title drought by winning the 2016 World Series, and Maddon reached the NLCS in three straight years before an early postseason exit in 2018.

“Players go into that year annually,” Maddon told the Tampa Bay Times in late November. “Good players go into a season without a contract for the next year. Why would I feel any different as a manager than a good player does, a [Manny] Machado or a [Bryce] Harper, whatever? You could say 'lame duck' or you could use 'free agent.' I think they are both the same term.”

The Cubs are far from a long shot to win the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the only NL team with better odds to win the Fall Classic. L.A. has won the NL pennant in each of the last two seasons.

Chicago, however, isn’t exactly among the World Series favorites. The top of the AL is considered to be much stronger with the reigning champion Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Houston Astros owning the best World Series odds.

The Cubs didn’t improve their roster in the offseason. While the likes of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado hit free agency, Chicago’s ownership said the organization didn’t have any money to spend. The Cubs were once thought to be among the favorites to sign Harper.

Only the Red Sox are projected to have a higher payroll than the Cubs in 2019.