4 dream Blue Jays manager candidates to replace John Schneider if he is fired

Joe Maddon

While Francona is one of the best ever, Joe Maddon isn’t too shabby either. Initially just seeing cameo appearances as interim manager twice for the Angels in the late 1990s, Maddon didn’t secure a full-time gig in the role until finally signing on with the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2006. It was then when his managerial career began to take off in the subsequent seasons. His best work came within the timespan of nine years with the Rays, followed by five more years with the Chicago Cubs shortly after.

During those 14 seasons, his teams finished first in the division four times, along with reaching the postseason on eight separate occasions. Maddon’s crown moment came in 2016 when he finally broke through with the Cubs to capture his one and only World Series championship. More importantly, he challenged Francona’s record-breaking accomplishment above by guiding the Cubs to secure their first title in over 108 years, topping the Red Sox one by another 22 years.

Since then, Maddon has had less success in his recent tenure with the Los Angeles Angels between 2020-2022. Despite having Mike Trout as his disposal, the Angels failed to finish with a record above .500 in each of his first two seasons with the club. He was eventually fired in-season in 2022 after a 27-29 record to start the year. In the meantime since then, Maddon has made appearances on various baseball shows, including MLB Now and MLB Tonight on the MLB Network. However, he had previously expressed interest in managing again if he gets the call. Nevertheless, with his proven track record of close to 1400 victories during the regular season and a career .532 winning percentage, along with another 32 victories during the postseason, Maddon definitely knows what it takes to win and breed success for a team. So if handing him a Jays team with their abundance of talent, he should be able to get the most out of all the players as a result.