SAN FRANCISCO — As Ben Cherington said, “You know the answer . . . ”
Of course I did.
But it had to be asked.
Joe Maddon is out there and let’s put it this way — he might be the best manager there is when you combine his advancement of analytics and knowing how to use them, and his ability to motivate average players into playing beyond their capabilities.
So even at age 60, Maddon is the coolest manager out there. So his availability doesn’t happen too often. It’s happening now. So each team should be asked the question, “Would it consider hiring Joe Maddon to manage right now?”
“Joe Maddon is an excellent manager. But we are extremely happy with John [Farrell]. Expect him to be here for a long while,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry wrote in a text.
And to finish off Cherington’s quote, “We are very happy with our manager.”
And they should be. Farrell managed a World Series championship team. Granted, he also managed a last-place team. Maddon has never won a championship and finished last in his first two years on the job in Tampa Bay. But he had his highest payroll of his Tampa Bay tenure in 2014, a hair shy of $80 million, and he finished fourth.
If you’re happy with your field leader, then great. Stick with him. Farrell doesn’t deserve to be let go just because Maddon is out there. There are likely many teams who feel the same way. But when Maddon finally decides to manage again, will the owners and leaders of teams kick themselves for letting an opportunity slip away?
The Cubs, for instance.
Whether it’s this offseason or next, the Cubs are going to start making a splash. There’s already talk within the industry of the Cubs possibly going after Max Scherzer and Jon Lester. Even if they have to wait a year for their young hitters to develop, having those guys in the fold will be a huge step.
But there’s a cold-heartedness that nobody would want to experience firsthand — firing someone who doesn’t deserve to be fired to make room for Maddon. I’m not sure Maddon wants to accept a position under those circumstances, either.
But we go back to our original premise that guys like Maddon only come along once in a blue moon, so how do you pass on him? Is Rick Renteria deserving of coming back to the Cubs after one season? Of course he is. But if you look at the big picture, which Theo Epstein, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, has to do for his franchise and his owner (Tom Ricketts), then he has to consider making it happen.
Remember, Maddon was a runner-up to Terry Francona when Epstein picked his first manager in Boston. It’s easy to wonder if he would go that route, even two World Series championships later under Francona, if he could do it over?
You’ll note that while Dodgers executive Andrew Friedman, Maddon’s former boss, said he’s committed to manager Don Mattingly for 2015, Epstein has not publicly said anything about the topic.
There have been reports that Major League Baseball might look into tampering as directed by the Rays, but it’s hard to prove anything of the sort. As soon as Maddon opted out of his deal Friday, he was a free agent.
Maddon’s agent, Alan Nero, wrote in a text Saturday, “[Maddon] will consider all options. Willing to take a year off, if necessary. Everyone is speculating on where. The process has just begun. Nothing new to report.”
No major moves can occur during the World Series anyway; Maddon opting out of his contract does not fall into that category. MLB might not like that it’s been a distracting topic, but a contract is a contract and if there’s an exit date during the World Series, then that’s the way it goes.
The phrase that Nero keeps repeating is Maddon’s willingness to sit out a year. Maddon just opened a restaurant in Tampa called Ava. He’s receiving inquiries from TV networks to work as an analyst.
Another solution would be to be a team’s special adviser and assistant to a general manager and offer his expertise. Of course, it would be awkward if that job was in a place where there was an obvious fit on the field, like with the Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers, Rockies, or any place where a manager was working on borrowed time.
Maddon could be that hire next spring after a manager gets off to a poor start. A team such as Texas has to be kicking itself since it is an organization that could afford to sign him for the $5 million to $7 million a year he’s seeking, but the Rangers committed to first-time manager Jeff Banister.
The Twins will do their due diligence, as general manager Terry Ryan said, but it’s not in their DNA to hire a high-profile manager and pay him that much money.
You don’t replace Francona, Farrell, Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter, Mike Scioscia, and Bob Melvin. But if you’re anyone else?
Be afraid.
Joe Maddon is out there.
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.