If the Dodgers hire Joe Maddon, they can expect a call from the commissioner.

Mark Topkin, the Tampa Bay Times’ beat writer, has the story on the stunning departure of Joe Maddon today. Read it for yourself, but the possibility of Maddon managing the Dodgers only seems stronger by the end of the piece.

As we noted earlier, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said that Don Mattingly “will be our manager next season.” It was a statement Friedman had to make, if only to put Matingly at ease. But if Mattingly had a short leash for failure before Maddon opted out of his contract, where does that leave him now?

Moreover, what if something changes? Say Friedman (and/or the new general manager, whoever he is) decides he wants to fire Mattingly and hire Maddon. Can they possibly do so without giving the appearance of impropriety?

From Topkin’s story:

The Rays will be more than interested observers in where Maddon ends up. If they feel he had been encouraged to leave by promise of a deal elsewhere, they could file a tampering charge with the commissioner’s office, which would make the breakup even more acrimonious.

Maddon told Topkin that he has no promise of a job elsewhere. However, Maddon’s agent (Alan Nero) is quoted as saying that he expects Maddon to manage somewhere in 2015. Maddon’s longest-tenured player, Ben Zobrist, is quoted as saying “I’m sure he’s probably got something else in the works.” What could it be?

The only managerial vacancy in MLB currently lies in Minnesota. That job would not appear (on the surface) to fit Maddon’s stated desire to make more money than the Rays could offer. In terms of market size, Tampa to Minneapolis constitutes a roughly lateral move.

So the question is not so much why Maddon would opt out of his contract, but why he would do so now. His current contract was set to expire in 2015. Maddon could simply have managed the Rays next season, let his contract expire, then explored the open market.

Nothing Friedman says can overcome the logic of Los Angeles as a landing point. With the Dodgers, Maddon could make the money he wants and reunite with the only GM who’s ever hired him to manage a major-league team. He could work close to home — closer than he could in any other major-league city.

And the Dodgers could expect a call from the commissioner’s office.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.