Mark Loretta Early Betting Favorite to Manage Cubs in 2020, Joe Maddon Second

Boy, the Cubs’ season has really gone into the crapper over the last week. Joe Maddon’s future in Chicago beyond this season was already tenuous at best in the eyes of most observers, and that’s before they were swept by the Cardinals at Wrigley. Then they got absolutely boatraced in Pittsburgh and…well, there’s probably nothing that really makes a difference in anyone’s fate at this point.

Even so, the tailspin in which the Cubs currently find themselves is only going to lead to further speculation about who will be managing the team next season. Several, including Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Paul Sullivan of the Tribune, have mentioned David Ross as a strong possibility. Bob Nightengale of USA Today went so far as to say it’d be shocking if Ross wasn’t named the new skipper by Thanksgiving, but consider the source and whatnot.

But the real favorite at this point may well be current bench coach Mark Loretta, who MLB Network’s Jon Heyman told 670 The Score is the “most likely candidate” to succeed Maddon. I’m not sure whether the popularity of our post moved the needle in Vegas, but the oddsmakers are very high on Loretta here in the early going.

Bovada just released a prop bet on who will be the Cubs manager for the 2020 season, and look who tops the list. Perhaps just as notable, check out who’s in second place with odds that are twice as good as Grandpa Rossy.

Mark Loretta +140
Joe Maddon +225
David Ross +450
Joe Girardi +550
Mark Derosa +750
John Farrell +1500
Sandy Alomar Jr +1500

For those of you not entirely familiar with how money lines work, it’s actually really simple. In Loretta’s case, a bet of $100 would pay $140 if he is named manager. The same bet on Maddon would pay $225 and you’d get $1,500 for laying a hundy on Alomar. Not sure why they don’t have one on Anthony Rizzo as player-manager, but whatever.

So who’re you putting your money on?