The Cubs are prepared to wait on Greg Maddux as long as he wants, even if Maddux holds out until the start of spring training before deciding where he wants to play.
Maddux told the Las Vegas Sun he has four teams interested in signing him and he doesn’t expect to make a decision until Feb. 16 at the earliest. Cubs camp opens in Mesa, Ariz., two days later, when pitchers and catchers report.
Despite the slow-motion pace of the negotiations, Maddux said it’s not about the money.
“My intention is to play where I want to play and to play for a contract that’s respectable,” Maddux said. “I’m not out to make anyone look bad or milk ’em for that extra dime.”
The Cubs are the only team to have acknowledged making an offer, a two-year deal estimated at $10 million to $14 million. The other three clubs reportedly in the mix are Los Angeles, St. Louis and Baltimore.
General manager Jim Hendry declined to comment on the report that Maddux could wait until the end of February to make a decision. Hendry is not expected to issue a deadline to Maddux’s agent, Scott Boras, or to take the Cubs’ offer off the table. But the longer the wait, the more Hendry must wonder if Maddux really is intrigued with the idea of returning to Chicago, his first baseball home.
Boras has hinted geography will be a major factor in Maddux’s decision. Los Angeles is obviously much closer to Maddux’s Las Vegas home than Chicago, and he’s having another house built in Southern California. Maddux is also a renowned golf addict who recently won a $92 gift certificate for finishing third in a pro-am golf tournament near Las Vegas. Too many day games at Wrigley Field and Chicago’s inclement spring weather could curtail Maddux’s obsession.
But whether the Dodgers will make Maddux an offer is still up in the air, and Maddux may have no other option than to take the Cubs’ two-year offer. New Los Angeles owner Frank McCourt hasn’t decided on his general manager, leaving current GM Dan Evans in a state of limbo as the start of spring training approaches.
St. Louis is trying to get some key players to defer money in a late effort to take a stab at Maddux, though majority owner Bill DeWitt Jr. termed the chances of signing him “remote at this point.” Baltimore is considered the last option for Maddux, who has spent his entire career in the National League and maintains an encyclopedic knowledge of hitters.
In the end, Dusty Baker could have a final say in Maddux’s decision. Before the Cubs signed LaTroy Hawkins last November, Baker called the Twins reliever to make one last sales pitch.
Asked recently if he would call Maddux, Baker replied: “I sold cars for a while. I’m kind of the closer in the situation.”
The Cubs eventually may need a closer to seal the deal with Maddux. Or they may have him all wrapped up without any real competing bids. Maddux isn’t showing his cards just yet.
“I understand it’s a story and people want to read about it, but it’s not right to cause any embarrassment to clubs that are offering me money,” Maddux said. “I would love to tell everyone what I’m up to, but it’s not fair to negotiate in the press.”
