The hot stove season hasn't begun in earnest with the World Series raging on, but already the Tampa Bay Rays are the talk of the offseason. General manager Andrew Friedman left for a position with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and manager Joe Maddon jumped ship soon after. Now, there are rumblings that the Rays may not be long for Tampa Bay.
According to reports, frequent low attendance and minimal fan support played a large role in Maddon's decision to leave the organization. Reportedly sources close to Maddon said the poor fan support, and the team's inability to get a new stadium that might attract greater interest "wore" on him and the players.
Because of this, and the aforementioned inability to get a new stadium funded, owner Fred Sternberg is said to be considering taking the team to Montreal, where the Expos played until 2005 when they moved to Washington D.C.
One MLB official told The New York Daily News "Say what you will about Montreal, but the Expos drew well over two million fans four times there in their heyday, while the Rays did that only once, their first year."
The Daily News reported Sternberg has had discussions with Wall Street associates about bringing baseball back to Montreal.
Maddon isn't expected to jump to L.A. with Friedman, where Don Mattingly is entrenched after winning the National League West division this year. Maddon didn't mention dissatisfaction with Rays fans either when talking about his decision to leave Tampa Bay.
"I have been doing this (managing) a long time, but I have never had this opportunity to research my employment on my terms. Never, never, and I think anyone given the same set of circumstances would do the same thing," Maddon said.
The hottest speculation is that Maddon could be headed to the Chicago Cubs, who are ready to splurge on free agent pitchers like Max Scherzer and Jon Lester.
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