Joe Maddon will be the Cubs' next manager

The Chicago Cubs have hired Joe Maddon to be their next manager, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports. On October 24, Maddon opted out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays and some reports suggested the Mets as potential suitors for his services.

The terms of Maddon's new contract have yet to be announced, but it was previously reported that Maddon was seeking a five-year deal in the $25 million range. The Cubs' incumbent manager, Rick Renteria, has yet to be notified of the Maddon hiring, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, though he presumably knows by now unless he doesn't have internet access or a cell phone or friends or anything.

It will be interesting to see whether a Maddon-led Cubs team has any impact on trade talks between the Mets and Cubs this offseason. The Mets and Cubs match up well in a trade due to the Cubs' rich organizational talent at shortstop and the Mets' surplus of young pitching. The Cubs have money to continue spending this offseason, and with Maddon now at the helm of a roster full of up-and-coming young talent, the Cubs are in a position to compete in 2015 after several years of failure.