Greg Maddux To Leave The Cubs Organization?

One of the successes of former general manager Jim Hendry’s tenure with the Chicago Cubs was hiring future hall of famer Greg Maddux as a special assistant to the general manager. Maddux has done wonders while serving as a front office official for the Cubs. Despite his title, Maddux has played a vital role in the Cubs acquisitions during the winter as well as in-season trades. Last season, Maddux lobbied for Hendry to acquire utility man Blake DeWitt from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot. Maddux also played key in the Cubs trade for Matt Garza last winter. So needless to say, Maddux has played an active role in the Cubs transactions despite his brief time as a front office official.

But as expected, once a new general manager is hired, he will have the choice to make changes to the Cubs’ front office. The only current front office official that appears to be safe is Tim Wilken. Chairman Tom Ricketts suggested last Friday that he would give Wilken a strong endorsement to the next general manager. Ricketts will likely do the same thing for Maddux, but, the decision appears to be up to Maddux.

Ricketts has already tried to reach out to Maddux. In his current position, Maddux is working on a part-time basis, evaluating the pitching prospects within the Cubs’ farm system as well developing players on the major league roster. At this point, Maddux is not sure what the future holds in store for him.

"“I don’t know, and I would feel the same way if Jim was still there now,” he said. I’m just trying to get my feet wet and figure out what I want to do in my post-baseball career.” Chicago Tribune"

Assuming the next general manager wants to keep Maddux in some capacity, and why wouldn’t he? Then there is a strong chance that Maddux will be operating in some capacity with the Cubs organization next season. As much as Maddux has already proven that he could be a quality front-office official, Ricketts–or the new general manager–should try and convince Maddux to join the coaching staff. Of course, assuming Mike Quade is fired after this season, a new manager may want to bring in his own-choice for a pitching coach. But when you look at the credentials of Maddux, any manager should be very interested in having the Cub-Icon as part of his coaching staff.

There have been some crazy rumors floating out there–not going to name names–that Maddux could be a general manager candidate. While Maddux does have a lot of knowledge regarding the game of baseball, serving as a general manager is something that neither the Ricketts or himself is interested in.

Maddux’s contract with the Cubs–which was constructed as a verbal agreement with Hendry–expires in December.