As per a tweet from Marc Topkin, a 3-year contract extension with Rays and skipper, Joe Maddon, is in the books. The official announcement of the deal, presumably with all of the pertinent information (terms, etc) will be made at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, at 11:00 AM. The Rays and Joe Ma began working on a contract extension back in December, but amicably halted those talks shortly thereafter with the promise of kick-starting those talks shortly after Maddon’s return from an over-seas trip. Maddon’s current contract will be up at the end of the season.
Honestly, did any of you really think that JoeMa wouldn’t sign an extension? Maddon has made no bones to having an affinity for this area. Too, Andrew Friedman made it mentioned on more than one occasion, that he felt confident an agreement would be reached, and mentioned in a radio interview last week that, “My expectation is to work with Joe for a long time.”
February 15th Update: Merlot Joe will, reportedly, make about $6 MM total over the course of three years. “I believe I have the best spot in all of Major League Baseball,” Maddon said during the press conference. “This is the most interesting place to be involved, I know the grass isn’t any greener, the turf isn’t any greener.” I think it’s safe to say that Maddon is an asset to our community, both sports and otherwise. “I want to do this for a long time,” Maddon said. Though he was a touch vague about whether that long time would be spent in this area, one would assume that he is content here, and hasn’t any aspirations of being anywhere else. The Rays also announced they will make a $100,000 donation to Maddon’s charities. I say here here to that! Click the link to hear the press conference in its entirety, via 620 WDAE Joe Maddon Press Conference 2-15.