Joe Maddon out as Cubs manager may put pressure on Phillies to fire Gabe Kapler

Now that Joe Maddon is officially not returning to the Chicago Cubs in 2020 as manager, the pressure may be on the Philadelphia Phillies to move on from Gabe Kapler.

With the Philadelphia Phillies taking part in their final game of 2019 on Sunday against the Miami Marlins, one of the most popular topics of discussion moving forward will be whether Gabe Kapler is the right man for the job as manager, especially with Joe Maddon available.

Back in the offseason, expectations were rightfully high for the Phillies entering 2019 since they were considered one of the big winners from the offseason, highlighted by the addition of Bryce Harper in free agency.

For years, Philadelphia was one of those teams that would show potential at times to emerge as a playoff contender in the National League, only to come up short each time.

Even last season when Kapler was brought on board to take over the duties as manager for the Phillies, there seemed to be a new level of excitement that previously hadn’t been around for years.

Unfortunately, Kapler’s first year in Philadelphia resulted in the team finishing two games below .500, although he did receive some benefit of the doubt since it was his first season ever as a manager.

As for the results of 2019, well since the Phillies failed to even earn one of the Wild Card spots in the National League, and finished fourth in the division only ahead of the Marlins, Kapler could find himself out of a job, and Maddon being available certainly doesn’t help his case.

It’s tough to put into words how frustrating it is to think about how Philadelphia will be watching the playoffs from home again since there’s no excuse for a team with this kind of talent to come up short the way they did.

In the long run, Kapler may seem like the better option in the long run since Maddon will be 66 in February, but as far as the Phillies are concerned, the main focus should be on winning a World Series as soon as possible.

After watching what Maddon was able to accomplish a few years ago in bringing the Cubs a World Series title on top of the fact that he’s already a local guy, no one would be surprised at all to see Philadelphia pursue the former Chicago manager.

Nothing is set in stone at the moment, but one thing seems certain when it comes to Maddon becoming available, which is the pressure could be heating up for the Phillies to fire Kapler after only two seasons.