The Chicago Cubs hiring Joe Maddon raised some eyebrows in the MLB offices and are now investigating the Cubs to see if they tampered with the former Tampa Bay Rays manager
Major League Baseball is investigating the Chicago Cubs to determine if they tampered with former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon who was agreed to a contract less than one week after opting out of his contract with the Rays.
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According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Rays submitted a request to MLB to investigate whether the Cubs spoke with Maddon while he was under contract with the Rays.
The Rays claim Maddon only opted out of his contract after being made aware of the interest from the Cubs and what they were willing to offer him if he opted out of his contract. Maddon had an opt-out clause in his contract that allowed him to become a free agent if general manager Andrew Friedman left the organization, which he did to become the president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
If MLB determines that the Cubs did indeed tamper with Maddon and talk to him while he was under contract, the Cubs could be subject to giving the Rays some form of compensation that Sherman writes could include players, draft picks and/or a fine.
The Cubs have denied any tampering with Maddon when they introduced him at a press conference to announce the hiring and Maddon’s agent Alan Nero scoffed at any assertions that tampering was involved.
It will be tough to prove that tampering took place and this looks like a scorned lover looking to get back on their ex who left them for another.
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