The Los Angeles Angels and former Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon will have their long-awaited face-to-face meeting on Monday, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported late Sunday night.
According to the report, Maddon is the first known candidate to get a sit-down with the club, but Angels general manager Billy Eppler plans to undergo a “traditional search.” Gonzalez added that “Maddon has long been considered the front-runner for the job.”
The Angels fired manager Brad Ausmus the day after the regular season concluded, after he led the team to a 72-90 record this season. Los Angeles finished 35 games behind the American League West champion Houston Astros and failed to make the playoffs for the fifth straight year.
Ausmus replaced Mike Scioscia, who spent 19 years leading the Angels and took the team to a World Series title in 2002.
Maddon was with the Angels’ organization in various capacities — including as a player, scout, coach and interim manager — from 1975 to 2005. As interim manager, he went 27-24 across two separate stints in 1996 and 1999. He was Scioscia’s bench coach from 2000 until he left the club to manage the Tampa Bay Rays following the 2005 season.
He spent nine years at the helm in Tampa Bay, leading that franchise to its first World Series appearance in 2008. He spent the last five leading managing the Cubs, and led the club to a World Series title in 2016. He has a career record of 1,252-1,068.
The three-time Manager of the Year has said he wants to work until he is at least 70.
