Angels Close to Signing Joe Maddon as New Manager

After a disappointing season, the Angels had seen enough, and fired Brad Ausmus from his managerial position with the franchise. They missed the playoffs again despite boasting one of the best individual players in baseball in Mike Trout, and aimed to find a new manager who would bring them back to postseason baseball.

A lot of names were thrown around, but it seems the most obvious choice will soon come to fruition. Jon Heyman reports Los Angeles and Joe Maddon are closing in on a deal to make Maddon the newest manager of the franchise.

Maddon is coming off a disappointing year in Chicago, but was also the man behind the Cubs' surge in 2016 and brought the franchise their first World Series title in over 100 years. His time had run out in the Windy City, and his exit was expected.

Now, he'll head to LA, where the Angels are just about ready to compete. They don't have the same depth of young talent the Cubs did, but there's more than enough for Maddon to work with here. We may see a return to postseason baseball for Los Angeles as soon as next season.