Ranking the MLB managerial openings

3. Chicago Cubs

Most baseball analysts and fans would view the Chicago Cubs opening as the top opening right now, but I’m not so sure. The Cubs are coming to the end of a five-year window that saw them flip the franchise’s losing narrative and reputation on its head. Joe Maddon ended the 100-plus year World Series drought, but the team felt stagnant the last three years following the win.

It’s very difficult for teams to continue winning beyond five or six years with the same core and no massive influx of young talent. The Cubs are tapped out financially and don’t have much in their system in terms of elite prospect depth. Theo Epstein traded away huge prospects like Gleyber Torres, Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease in win-now moves.

In many ways, the Cubs’ current situation is similar to how Epstein left the Red Sox in 2011. Boston had committed to a massive payroll but missed the playoffs two years in a row and was on the brink of collapsing to three last-place finishes in fours years (granted, their lone winning season from 2012 to 2015 was a World Series victory). The Cubs aren’t on the brink of backsliding into last place  — thanks, Pittsburgh — but they are probably further away from going back to the World Series than most people realize.

There’s still a lot to like about managing the Cubs. Whoever takes over for Maddon inherits a veteran clubhouse that won’t need to be babysat or coddled. The Cubs have a deep starting rotation and just need to address their bullpen woes. That’s going to come down to getting Craig Kimbrel healthy. This will be a great job for an established manager.