Major League Baseball is currently investigating the possibility that the Chicago Cubs committed a tampering violation while expressing their interest in Joe Maddon. The league is trying to determine whether the Cubs contacted Maddon before he opted out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.
According to Cubs president Theo Epstein, that did not happen.
“We welcome the MLB investigation,” Epstein said Monday, via Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. “There was no tampering whatsoever. I’d rather they investigate so we can clear our name and move on from this quickly. We’re giving our full cooperation and we welcome it.”
Maddon’s agent Alan Nero said the two-time AL Manager of the Year negotiated with the Rays for several days before it became clear that there would be no deal. It was at that point that other MLB clubs were informed that Maddon was on the market.
“Joe would have stayed if [Tampa Bay] had stepped up,” Nero said.
I find it almost impossible to believe that Maddon wasn’t made aware that there was a job waiting for him in Chicago. Whether MLB can prove that is a different story, but there’s no way all of that came together so quickly without preliminary discussions.
