Detroit Tigers News: Angels hire manager Joe Maddon

There has not been much happening for the Detroit Tigers of late, having missed the playoffs and already securing their managerial staff for the 2020 season. But for many other teams, the hot stove is heating up as they ramp up their search for the missing pieces of their puzzles. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Angels struck first.

The Angels hired Joe Maddon

The most coveted free agent manager available this offseason is Joe Maddon, who was fired by the Chicago Cubs before the final game of the season. Now having signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Angels he is no longer unemployed.

By signing with the Los Angeles, he returns to the franchise that he spent his first three decades of professional baseball with. He began in 1975 as a minor league player, which he played four years of. He then transitioned to scouting, coaching and managing in the minors until 1994 when he got his first big league coaching position. He served as a first base and bench coach, with the latter being his role for the 2002 World Series run. He then moved on to manage the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago Cubs — where he won the first World Series in 107 years in 2016 — before returning home to Los Angeles.

Maddon’s return brings with it a great deal of excitement for the Angels organization, who have been blessed with a generational talent in Mike Trout but simply cannot seem to put together a quality season. Since Trout’s debut season in 2011, the Halos have only made the playoffs once, when they were swept out of the American League Divisional Series by the Kansas City Royals in 2014. After another failed season with Brad Ausmus at the helm in 2019, it appears that the organization is going all-in on taking advantage of Trout and Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani.

Whether or not Joe Maddon will make a difference back in L.A. will depend on how receptive the team is to his often unorthodox approaches and whether or not the front office is able to supply him with the pieces he needs to work his magic. If anything, he is a welcome refreshment from the stale styles of former managers Mike Scioscia and Brad Ausmus.

More on managers

Now that Maddon his signed on with the Angels, seven teams now remain with managerial vacancies: San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Cubs. Jim Bowden takes a look at the best fits for each respective team in this article for The Athletic. He starts off on a high note, with Maddon being the best fit for Los Angeles in his opinion, but what about the rest of the teams?

His list mentions a lot of familiar names, including David Ross who fits with the Cubs, Gabe Kapler and the Giants, Joe Girardi with the Mets, Buck Showalter (or Dusty Baker) with the Phillies, and Mike Matheny with the Royals. Another name thrown in the mix is a blast from the past: Hensley Meulens, who might also fit in with the Giants. Additionally, Alex Cora is mentioned along with Mike Bell for the Pittsburgh Pirates position, and Eduardo Pérez is suggested for the San Diego Padres vacancy.

Vote for Niko Goodrum!

Niko Goodrum is up for the 2019 Heart and Hustle Award. You can vote for him here before the poll ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Fan voting constitutes 5 percent of the total voting for the final award winner.

Norwich Narwhals!

Do not forget to vote for the new team name for the Tigers’ New York-Penn League affiliate in Connecticut. You can learn more about the various monikers here.

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