Joe Maddon opts out of Rays contract

Joe Maddon opted out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday and is leaving the team immediately. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Buster Olney and later confirmed by Rays ownership.

Earlier this month, former Rays general manager Andrew Friedman left to take over as president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. That move immediately led to speculation that Maddon could follow Friedman to LA, but Maddon quickly put an end to it by insisting he was happy in Tampa Bay and had no plans to leave.

While most will jump to the conclusion that Maddon has his sights set on the Dodgers job, it doesn’t sound like that is the case — at least for now.

Source: Maddon NOT heading to #Dodgers.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 24, 2014

Maddon told Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times that his decision to leave the Rays was “gut-wrenching” and had to do with financial disagreements with the team. He also is interested to see what opportunities are out there and is hoping to manage in 2015.