Angels Fire Brad Ausmus After One Season, Paving Way for Joe Maddon’s Return
Joe Maddon spent more than three decades in the Angels organization before leaving to manage the Rays, and now it looks as though he may be completing the circle. Ken Rosenthal had reported not long ago that the Angels would be willing to fire Brad Ausmus after just one year should Maddon become a free agent, all of which has come to pass.
The Angels have fired Brad Ausmus.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 30, 2019
While Maddon joining the Angels is not a done deal, you have to believe both sides know the score here. Unless Anaheim was just really unhappy with Ausmus for other reasons, firing him only makes sense if they knew Maddon would take the gig.
Brad Ausmus' firing by the Los Angeles Angels, as @Buster_ESPN first reported, clears the way for Joe Maddon to return to the Angels, the team for whom he worked for 30 years. While it's not a fait accompli, a number of sources believe Maddon to the Angels is likely to happen.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 30, 2019
Gee, maybe the parting of ways in Chicago really was mutual to some extent. Not that Maddon was raring to bolt or anything, but the expiration of his deal afforded both sides their respective opportunities to change things up. For Maddon, the chance to go back to where it all started was surely an enticing proposition even before he hashed things out with Theo Epstein over a bottle of wine.
Seems like both Maddon and the Cubs could have things figured out in relatively short order, though I’d guess Maddon gets a new gig well before the Cubs replace him.
