Roger Arrieta
When Andrew Friedman was signed to the newly created position of President of Baseball Operations, new rumors flourished that Joe Maddon would eventually become the Dodgers manager.
One of the reasons that these rumors flourished was because Friedman and Maddon were friends who had a great and very successful working relationship while in Tampa Bay. They took a franchise with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, scouted, developed, and managed Tampa Bay into being a contender year in and year out. The second reason was Mattingly has seemingly been on the “hot seat” for the last couple seasons. With the Dodgers early exit from the playoffs this season, there were more rumors that he may lose his job as the Dodgers manager. When Joe Maddon did the unthinkable, and opted out of his contract with the Rays on Friday, it seemed to fan the flames even further that he would be the one to replace Mattingly.
Friedman has gone on record stating Mattingly will be the manager in 2015, and hopes to have him as the manager for a long time.
What if, however, there was a position for Maddon with the Dodgers, as the new GM? While Dodgers management has made it clear they want to replenish the farm system and develop players from within, recent moves like Friedmans hiring, Colletti’s new title of “Special Advisor to CEO,” and now Maddon opting out as Rays manager, it would seem he would be a perfect fit as the new Dodgers GM.
He has a long standing, successful working relationship with Friedman. They both share the same ideas and strategies for drafting and
developing young players. Why wouldn’t he become the Dodgers next GM? At 60 years old, Maddon was the oldest manager in the MLB. While it’s fair to say he could indeed continue managing in the major leagues, it is also fair to say he is looking to extend his career in baseball, and becoming a GM would be the next step.
Joe Torre, and Tony LaRussa have each moved into office positions, as they walked away from their Hall of Fame managing careers. Why not Joe Maddon? He’s already proved himself as a great coach and manger, and it seems he and the Rays had gone as far as they could with each other. Maddon had a special clause in his contract, which allowed him to opt out of his contract with the Rays if Friedman was no longer the GM. That only reaffirms the admiration and respect he has for him. With Friedman saying he intends to have Mattingly as manager for 2015, and for years to come, it seems clear that’s what he truly believes.
Hiring Maddon as GM would bring yet another great baseball mind to an already impressive roster of baseball minds the Dodgers have assembled. With Kasten, Friedman, Maddon, Colletti in the front office, and Mattingly at the helm, with a great bench coach in Tim Wallach, the Dodgers would have a very impressive all star front office team off the field, to go along with the all star team on the filed, and bring even more high expectations. Dodgers fans have a lot to be excited about in 2015!
