This offseason, the Chicago Cubs made what was perhaps the most shocking move of the entire winter when they decided to fire manager David Ross and hire past division rival Craig Counsell to become the team’s next skipper.
Not only was the decision a surprise to many after the front office and ownership group publicly backed Ross, but then it was revealed that the Cubs handed Counsell the most lucrative deal for a manager in Major League Baseball history.
Clearly the decision makers thought bringing in the winningest Milwaukee Brewers skipper ever would help them get back into contention to chase this franchise’s fourth World Series title.
And while things haven’t quite worked out the way anyone had hoped this season, they are still in a vastly greater place than where their crosstown rival Chicago White Sox currently are after firing yet another manager as they look to avoid the worst record in MLB history.
On Thursday, the White Sox announced they had moved on from Pedro Grifol after he amassed an 89-109 record in a little under two years, hiring Grady Sizemore to take over on an interim basis despite this being his first year as a baseball coach.
More than likely, they will be looking to bring in an established person to lead them through the rebuild they are about to embark on.
Could their crosstown rivals turn to legendary Cubs manager Joe Maddon?
That would certainly be interesting
There has been no indication that the White Sox are interested in the one-time World Series champion and three-time Manager of the Year winner, but after getting fired by the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, it seemed like he was looking for a new job.
It was reported that he was interested in the open New York Mets vacancy this past offseason, another situation that looked like it was going to be a rebuild.
So maybe the Cubs legend has the appetite to take on this massive undertaking, something that seems to be a multi-year project based on how little talent is on their Major League roster.
But, MLB insider Jon Morosi named some potential candidates to monitor, and Maddon wasn’t one of them.
That doesn’t mean the White Sox couldn’t eventually give the long-time manager a call to see if he’d be interested in guiding their group of young prospects on their Major League journeys, but there’s also a chance he might not be interested.
Since winning the World Series with the Cubs in 2016, his reputation as a skipper has taken a hit.
He only won a single division title since that point, failing to make the playoffs in his final season with Chicago and not coming close during his limited time with the Angels.
Perhaps he would prefer to take over a roster that has an immediate chance of winning a championship instead of jumping into what seems like a borderline impossible situation with the White Sox.
It will be interesting to see what the former Cubs manager decides to do either way.
